It looks likes David Benioff & D.B. Weiss will not be carrying on the Star Wars legacy as planned. The Game of Thrones creative duo have walked away from their much-publicized deal with Disney’s Lucasfilm to launch a feature film trilogy in 2022.
The plan was for Benioff and Weiss to carry on the Star Wars legacy in a trilogy of films that would set up a new story once the Skywalker saga wraps with the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The pair have had to exit their plans to do so due to their very lucrative deal with Netflix which would reportedly leave them with no time to develop the project in a way they saw fit. Here is what Benioff and Weiss had to say about the turn of events:
“We love Star Wars. When George Lucas built it, he built us too. Getting to talk about Star Wars with him and the current Star Wars team was the thrill of a lifetime, and we will always be indebted to the saga that changed everything. There are only so many hours in the day, and we felt we could not do justice to both Star Wars and our Netflix projects so we are regretfully stepping away.”
While rumors are swirling that the polarizing and mixed reaction to the final season of Game of Thrones had something to do with the unraveling of the deal, this appears to be mere troll speculation and nothing more. Netflix signed the duo to a nine-figure deal and with an offer like that in play, their focus should squarely be on them. The Star Wars deal was announced in 2018 and while all parties involved thought this could all work, it probably became clear that they didn’t have the time to invest in a trilogy of films. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy seems to want to keep the door open to working with the duo in the future if possible:
“David Benioff and Dan Weiss are incredible storytellers,. We hope to include them in the journey moving forward when they are able to step away from their busy schedule to focus on Star Wars.”
Despite losing Benioff and Weiss, the Star Wars brand has a lot coming up with no shortage of talented collaborators to keep telling stories. The Rise of Skywalker launches in December and ahead of that is The Madalorian which debts on the Disney+ streaming service on November 12. There is also the Ewan McGregor Obi-Wan Kenobi series that is ramping up along with Star Wars stories from Rian Johnson and possibly Marvel CEO Kevin Feige.
