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July 23 (UPI) -- New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi spoofs Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in a trailer released Tuesday for his new movie JoJo Rabbit, starring Scarlett Johansson, Rebel Wilson and Sam Rockwell. The Thor: Ragnarok and What We Do in the Shadows director plays a bumbling Hitler, the imaginary friend of a boy who joins the Hitler Youth army during World War II. The boy, JoJo (Roman Griffin Davis), is bullied by fellow group members, who call him a rabbit.
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"Let them say whatever they want!" Waititi's Hitler tells the young JoJo, who's upset about the teasing. "People used to say a lot of nasty things about me. 'Oh, this guy's a lunatic. Look at that psycho, he's going to get us all killed.'"
JoJo's admiration for Hitler is challenged when his mother, played by Johansson, decides to hide a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their home.
Rockwell plays Cpt. Klenzendorf, who runs a Nazi camp, while Wilson plays Fraulein Rahm, one of the camp's instructors. Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones) and Stephen Merchant (Logan) also appear in the film.
The film is based on the novel Caging Skies by Christine Leunens. It's set for an Oct. 18 release in theaters.
Waititi's also been tapped to direct Thor: Love & Thunder, the fourth installment of the franchise, starring Natalie Portman as the new incarnation of the titular superhero, and Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. He's also making a live-action adaptation of Akira, which has yet to announce casting.
