Marvel filmmaker Taika Waititi has called critics “sad lost souls who couldn’t achieve their dreams” after his latest film, Klara and the Sun, premiered with negative reviews.
The director behind projects like Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Love and Thunder unleashed his true feelings in a post on Instagram. Tied to an image shared by ScreenRant earlier this week that reflects audience reception to the live-action book adaptation, Waititi posted an emoji-filled message taking aim at the reviewers who walked away from his new movie unimpressed.
“I haven’t read a review of anything aimed at me or my peers in almost 15 years,” he said, along with a series of emojis. “But I do listen to the people.”
Klara and the Sun’s critical reception has struggled in the wake of its October 23, 2026, release date. While Rotten Tomatoes has recorded mostly positive reactions from viewers at 74% favorability, its Tomatometer has sunk to a ‘rotten’ 26%. Its IMDb Metascore is similarly dire at a negative 30 out of 100 after 27 reviews. IGN did not review the movie.
Waititi said he’s strayed from reading reviews for years, but that didn’t stop him from pointing his 2.8 million Instagram followers to those who didn’t enjoy the story his Klara and the Sun was trying to tell.
“So, this Halloween, let’s spare a thought for those sad lost souls who couldn’t achieve their dreams of becoming artists, and thus settled, and became critics. The same people who also hated Jojo Rabbit,” he added with a laughing-crying-face and shrug emoji.
Jojo Rabbit is Waititi’s 2019 project and his first since turning heads with Thor: Ragnarok in 2017. The writer, director, actor, and producer suggested critics weren’t fond of the World War II-era dark comedy, though what negative reaction he’s referring to here isn’t quite clear.
Jojo Rabbit boasts an impressive 81% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Although its IMDb score isn’t quite as high at a middling 58, some of the reviews listed there are extremely positive, including an A- from Entertainment Weekly and an 85 from The Wrap. IGN gave the film an 8.5/10.
“Klara and the Sun introduces audiences to Klara (Jenna Ortega), an Artificial Friend who wants nothing more than to find the perfect home,” an official description for the film from Sony Pictures said. “When Klara meets Josie (Mia Tharia), each immediately senses a kindred spirit in the other. Josie has a fraught relationship with her mother (Amy Adams) and they’ve suffered great loss, but Klara’s innocent wonder and unwavering loyalty begin to heal the family and bring light to Josie’s complicated world.”
While Waititi has had much to say about how critics have responded to Klara and the Sun, the films seems to have struggled to grab the attention of the average moviegoer, even if those who have seen it generally had a decent experience. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel of the same name has only managed to pull in a dismal 1.7 million worldwide after two weekends in theaters.
Klara and the Sun was also expected to debut in around 2,000 theaters last week before Sony seemingly rolled back that plan with an 800-theater debut, per Collider. Deadline reported that the company chose to stop reporting box office earnings for the film this weekend, too, with its budget reportedly set somewhere around $20 million – $40 million.
Waititi signed off his Instagram post, saying, “Irrelevant. Out of touch. Obsolete. In the bin.” He added a trash can emoji, a crying face emoji, and a heart hands emoji.
Waititi was previously set to helm a Star Wars movie, but after six years of attempting to get the film off the ground, he announced the project was “on ice” earlier this month. He once said his take on the universe was trying to “harness a little bit more of the fun from” the original trilogy. What’s next for Klara and the Sun remains unclear.
Photo by Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty Images.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
