Warning: This story contains spoilers for the finale of Disney's The Mandalorian.
Taika Waititi has won praise internationally for his work on the season finale of Star Wars live action series The Mandalorian, with some fans calling for him to direct a Star Wars film.
Hollywood Reporter reviewer Richard Newby described the episode, which came out on Disney+ on Friday night, as "an epic season finale".
"The eighth episode, "Redemption," directed by Taika Waititi, came with revelations aplenty," he wrote. "Mando (Pedro Pascal) has a name, a face and is a space daddy. Ok, so the last one we knew but this episode makes it official...
Waititi has previously spoken about how the series had to remain true to the original Star Wars trilogy.
"All said, Waititi delivers a big episode, jam-packed with everything that has made The Mandalorian such a sensation, ironing over some of the weak spots from earlier episodes and promising an even grander season two."
Rolling Stone was equally impressed, with reviewer Alan Sepinwall saying: "A week after the release of [The Rise of Skywalker] brought the main movie saga to a disappointingly frantic, muddled end(*), The Mandalorian wraps its first season in splendid form with "Redemption."...
"But after feeling so bummed out by Skywalker on so many levels, I was as relieved as I was elated by how effectively Team Mandalorian (with another Jon Favreau script, and Taika Waititi directing as well as voicing IG-11) concluded this phase of Mando and Baby Yoda's story."
USA Today reviewer Alex Kane also commended the Kiwi filmmaker, saying "there are definitely moments that make use of his penchant for humour and wit".
Waititi has also received overwhelmingly positive comments on social media for his direction of the finale, with numerous fans calling on him to direct a full-length film.
https://twitter.com/ErickEsteban/status/1210610625350524928
"Thank you #TaikaWaititi for the best episode of #TheMandalorian!!! Now please write and direct a Star Wars movie!!!," Annie Kinsley tweeted.
"Let's face it - Taika Waititi should have directed The Rise of Skywalker," Tony Pennino said.
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"5 minutes into the last episode of @themandalorian and I've decided @TaikaWaititi must write and direct his own @starwars series," Michael Patterson said.
"The season finale of #TheMandalorian is in my opinion the best episode for any show, ever," said Dustin Frey. "#TaikaWaititi and #JonFavreau killed it!"
https://twitter.com/G999Dylan/status/1210638119655084032
"Can we give #TaikaWaititi, @Jon_Favreau and the people behind @themandalorian #TheMandalorian the keys to the @starwars #starwars kingdom already? I mean....they have managed to unite a pretty divided nation," said Caitlekins.
Waititi was first confirmed as one of the directors in October 2018, alongside Dave Filoni, Deborah Chow, Rick Famuyiwa, and Bryce Dallas Howard. He also voices one of the characters in the series, the bounty hunter droid IG-11.
Waititi has previously spoken about how the series had to remain true to the original Star Wars trilogy.
"Star Wars is very different to Marvel style," he told reporters, according to a SlashFilm report in February.
"They know that the tone of the first films really should be kind of adhered to. That's what the fans like and you can't really disrespect it, I guess is a nicer way of saying, 'can't put too many jokes in'. There's a bit, definitely my tone is in there, the dialogue and stuff like that."
The Mandalorian was the biggest launch title on the new Disney streaming service, which arrived in New Zealand in mid-November. Reviews for the show have been overwhelmingly positive, with a particular focus on its breakout star, the character Baby Yoda.
A release date for the second season has not yet been confirmed, though creator Jon Favreau revealed filming had started in October.
