Whoa. Over a year ago, it was announced that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss would partner with Disney on a new trilogy of Star Wars films, but now it appears that the duo will no longer be visiting a galaxy far, far away. According to Deadline, Benioff and Weiss have “walked away” from their deal to produce the movies, the first of which was due to land in theaters in 2022.
What could cause the two to walk away from such an illustrious gig? In a statement, Benioff and Weiss pointed to their overall development deal with Netflix:
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.
Again, whoa. When it was announced that Benioff and Weiss signed a $200 million deal at Netflix, the question became just how the duo would manage to write, produce and direct movies and shows for the streaming giant while also cranking out a new Star Wars trilogy for Disney. And now it seems we have our answer: they won’t. “We love Star Wars,” the pair said. “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.”
That feeling appears to be mutual; Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Deadline this move doesn’t mean we won’t see Benioff and Weiss working for Disney sometime in the future, “David Benioff and Dan Weiss are incredible storytellers,” she said. “We hope to include them in the journey forward when they are able to step away from their busy schedule to focus on Star Wars.”
Scheduling conflicts are common enough in Hollywood, but we have to wonder if the comparatively poor box office returns for Solo, plus the much-criticized final season of Game of Thrones, inspired Disney to rethink its Star Wars strategy going forward. For that matter, people have been wondering about the future of Rian Johnson’s Star Wars trilogy, too, although it seems to have stabilized for the moment.
So the future of Star Wars on the big screen after The Rise of Skywalker looks uncertain. Happily, its future on TV looks bright.
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