Production began last week in Prague on Taika Waitit’s WWII satire Jojo Rabbit, and the director released the first image from the set on social media over the weekend.
Waititi will play a fictional version of Adolf Hitler in the film – an imaginary creation dreamt up by the movie’s protagonist, a young German boy experiencing life during the Nazi regime.
In a snapshot posted to Twitter, Waititi is seen flipping a picture of the real-life dictator the bird.
“I’m stoked to begin shooting my anti-war satire,” the director declared in a press release.
“We’ve assembled an incredible cast and I couldn’t be more excited to finally ridicule Nazis and their beliefs. This film is going to piss off a lot of racists and that makes me very happy,”
“Also, what better way to insult Hitler than having him portrayed by a Polynesian Jew?” Waititi added on Twitter.
In Jojo Rabbit, newcomer Roman Griffin will play the lead character, while young New Zealand actress Thomasin McKenzie (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies) stars as a teenage Jewish girl he discovers his mother has been hiding in their home.
They join an outstanding supporting cast that includes Scarlett Johansson as the boy’s mother, Sam Rockwell as the Nazi captain of a Hitler Youth camp, and Rebel Wilson as Fraulein Rahm, a brutish officer at the camp.
Behind-the-scenes additions to the crew of Jojo Rabbit include cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. (The Master), production designer Ra Vincent, and costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo. Both Vincent and Rubeo previously collaborated with Waititi on Thor: Ragnarok.
“Taika is a master at bringing honesty and humanity to the surface in any story, all while allowing us to laugh,” stated Fox Searchlight Presidents of Production Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum.
“We could not be more thrilled to join him in the remarkable journey of Jojo Rabbit.”
No release date has been set for Jojo Rabbit, but it’s possible it will be ready by the end of the year for an awards-qualifying run.
Lead photo via Twitter / Taika Waititi
