Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit is a dark comedy set during World War II.
Taika Waititi makes for a striking Hitler in the first Jojo Rabbit image. Waititi’s next project is a dark comedy-satire set during World War II. The filmmaker’s version of the German dictator seems to be a wry man who is appreciating the beauty of Jojo’s mum Mrs. Betzler, played by Scarlett Johansson.
Taika Waititi, known for indie comedies like Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do in the Shadows, has been promoting Jojo Rabbit in recent months. Last year, he directed Thor: Ragnarok and became a worldwide star. The director infused the brand of comedy he is known for into the superhero film. His humour is not hurtful. It is instead self-deprecating, dark and has lots of irony. It is often the laugh-out-loud kind.
Late last month, Waiti said that Jojo Rabbit will make many racists angry. He has faced racism in his home country of New Zealand as a man of Polynesian (specifically Maori) descent. He said in April this year, “I think New Zealand is the best place on the planet, but it’s a racist place. People just flat-out refuse to pronounce Mori names properly. There’s still profiling when it comes to Polynesians.”
First still from the set of WW2 satire, #JojoRabbit: Jojo (played by Roman Griffin Davis) having dinner with his imaginary friend Adolf (played by writer/director @TaikaWaititi), and his mother, Rosie (#ScarlettJohansson)
📷: Kimberley French pic.twitter.com/KbxqaPWyyN
— Jojo Rabbit (@jojorabbitmovie) June 11, 2018
Taika Waititi has also been posting photos from the set of Jojo Rabbit. Earlier this month, he tweeted out an image of him standing with a portrait of Hitler. He captioned it, “Week one down of our anti-f****face satire, Jojo Rabbit. Can’t wait to share it with the world. Also, what better way to insult Hitler than having him portrayed by a Polynesian Jew?”
Can’t believe I get to work with Scarlett Witch from the scavengers movies! Here I am teaching her how to use Captain Merika’s mini biscuit shield to defend herself from a mini nazi attack. #jojorabbit #FiniteWar @jojorabbitmovie pic.twitter.com/bD16VWe1PK
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) June 11, 2018
Week one down of our anti-fuckface satire, Jojo Rabbit. Can’t wait to share it with the world. Also, what better way to insult Hitler than having him portrayed by a Polynesian Jew?
🖕 #FuckYouShitler @jojorabbitmovie @foxsearchlight pic.twitter.com/bNZ2YlDgaF— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) June 1, 2018
Jojo Rabbit does not have a release date yet as production is still in early stages. Rebel Wilson, Thomasin McKenzie and Sam Rockwell also star in the film.