Did theStar Warsuniverse just suffer a major setback?Game of Thronesshowrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have decided to sever ties with Lucasfilm and Disney. The duo were reportedly set to helm thenext Star Wars trilogyin the franchise, which was allegedly the Knights of the Old Republic storyline. They were set to release the first installment in 2022, but it appears that they are just too busy to give theStar Warsfranchise the attention that it deserves. Weiss and Benioff had this to say in a statement.
“We loveStar Wars. When George Lucas built it, he built us too. Getting to talk aboutStar Warswith him and the currentStar Warsteam 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 bothStar Warsand our Netflix projects. So we are regretfully stepping away.”
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss signed a huge $200 million deal with Netflix over the summer, which is a multi-year deal. The two left HBO after makingGame of Thronesfor the new deal, though they say they have no ill will towards the network. At the time of the streaming deal, it was believed that they were still on board to take on the upcomingStar Warstrilogy set outside of the Skywalker Saga. However, that is no longer the case. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy also commented on the matter. She explains.
“David Benioff and Dan Weiss are incredible storytellers,. We hope to include them in the journey forward when they are able to step away from their busy schedule to focus onStar Wars.”
The Last Jedidirector Rian Johnson is currently out promoting his latest projectKnives Outand assured fans over the weekend that histrilogy, which was supposed to come out after David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' trilogy, was still very much happening. The director had to have known that theGame of Thronesshowrunners were exiting their deal with Lucasfilm, which may have just put his trilogy on the fast track.
The Last Jediis one of the most divisive installments in the entireStar Warsfranchise, so it will be interesting to see what Lucasfilm intends to do now.The Rise of Skywalkerhits theaters at the end of the year and the first live-actionStar Warsseries,The Mandalorian, hits Disney+ in November. There’s still quite a bit to look forward to on the small screen, but the big screen is a mystery for the time being. Will Rian Johnson’s trilogy get moved up? We’ll just have to wait and see. TheGame of Thronesshowrunners exiting theStar Warsfranchise was first reported byDeadline.
