The Game of Thrones guys are getting out of the galaxy far, far away.
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, best known for creating and showrunning Game of Thrones,
have exited Lucasfilm and their planned Star Wars trilogy.
The pair were slated to write and direct three films that would have served as the next chapter
in the Star Wars franchise following the launch of The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment
in the nine-film Skywalker saga.
Benioff and Weiss revealed in a statement why they are no longer making their Star Wars
trilogy: they are simply too busy working on projects for Netflix.
In August 2019, it was reported that the duo had inked a massive five-year deal, believed
to be worth as much as $300 million, with the streaming giant to create new television
series and original movies.
No details on Benioff and Weiss' Netflix shows and films have been revealed as of the making
of this video, but it seems clear that they may be more invested in those projects than
in their three Star Wars films.
Still, the joint statement that Benioff and Weiss provided to Deadline alongside the announcement
indicates that their decision to depart from the Star Wars universe had no ill intent,
and that the move wasn't motivated by any bad blood or behind-the-scenes troubles.
It read, in part,
"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."
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy echoed Benioff and Weiss' sentiments in a statement
of her own, writing,
"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 on Star Wars."
Judging by the remarks Benioff, Weiss, and Kennedy made, it appears that everything is
pretty peachy-keen between the creatives and the studio.
However, some Thrones fans have begun theorizing that perhaps this isn't the entire truth,
and that Lucasfilm may have actually fired Benioff and Weiss over their polarizing handling
of the final season of Game of Thrones.
"My heart is broken!"
"Don't touch me."
This, of course, is all just speculation.
The upside of all of this is that the Star Wars franchise will be just fine without Benioff
and Weiss on board.
Lucasfilm is far smarter than to have the future success of the entire film series hinge
on the enduring commitment of two people.
Plus, the studio has plenty of time to get its proverbial TIE Fighters in a row and decide
who should take the reins on the franchise moving forward, as the Star Wars films will
be taking a brief hiatus following the December 20th premiere of The Rise of Skywalker.
It's believed that the break will last three years, given that the first of Benioff and
Weiss' three Star Wars installments was expected to hit cinemas sometime in 2022.
One might assume that Lucasfilm would have to delay the franchise return by a year or
two to make up for the loss of Benioff and Weiss and the creative shake-ups that will
ensue, but don't forget that the studio has two big-name movie-makers already working
on projects of their own, creatives who are more than capable of taking the place of Benioff
and Weiss.
Both The Last Jedi writer-director Rian Johnson and Marvel Studios chief creative officer
Kevin Feige are set to create their own additions to the Star Wars universe, with Johnson making
his own trilogy and Feige on board to produce one movie.
It seems most plausible that Lucasfilm will effectively replace Benioff and Weiss' trilogy
with Johnson's, though there's no way to know what the studio will do at this point in time.
Either way, the future of Star Wars still looks bright.
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