This Is Taika Waititi's Favorite Star Wars Moment

Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, a new Disney+ documentary, has provided the fandom with an abundant font of insight into the minds of the creators responsible for bringing the first live-action Star Wars series to the screen. Among other interesting revelations in the doc, season finale director Taika Waititi shared his favorite moment from the original trilogy — and his answer might surprise you.

It's not particularly surprising that Waititi selected a moment from the entry that many consider to be the best Star Wars film: 1980's The Empire Strikes Back. What is surprising, is that Waititi didn't pick the stellar lightsaber fight atop Cloud City or the dramatic conflict with the Imperial Walkers on Hoth. Waititi's favorite moment from the film was a quiet beat between Luke and Yoda.

At the outset of Luke's Jedi training, he isn't strong enough with the Force to retrieve his X-Wing, which sank into the swamp after he crash-landed on Dagobah. After his failed attempt, he laments to his new master that the ship is too heavy. To teach his young apprentice a lesson in faith, Yoda wiggles three green fingers and easily levitates the spaceship. "I don't believe it!" Luke exclaims.

Yoda replies, "That is why you fail." 

Harsh lesson, Master Yoda, but Waititi apparently digs it. The Jojo Rabbit director's thoughts seem particularly important, since Disney and Lucasfilm have already decided Waititi has a future in the Star Wars universe. Perhaps this means we can expect more quiet, spiritual meditations from Waititi's Star Wars, work and fewer lasers and severed hands.

Waititi's grand finale for The Mandalorian's first season received rave reviews from both audiences and critics alike. According to IMDb, it was the highest-rated episode of the popular series — no small achievement considering his work was in competition with other A-list directors like Bryce Dallas Howard, Dave Filoni, and Deborah Chow.

After joining the dream team of directors that brought The Mandalorian to life, Waititi was tapped to develop a new feature film set in the Star Wars universe. This project is in its infancy, and details have been remarkably scarce, though it's safe to say the movie will take place entirely outside the main plot of the recently-concluded Skywalker Saga. As he demonstrated in his direction of Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi is one of those rare talents capable of putting his own definitive mark on a franchise film without breaking continuity. The third Thor film felt both like a high-tier MCU entry and a Waititi project in equal measure. It will be interesting to see how this unique touch plays with one of the most intense fanbases in sci-fi. 

The Mandalorian season 2 is still scheduled to begin streaming in October. Until then, you can catch up on all the past episodes on Disney Plus.