The men behind Game Of Thrones have jumped spaceship and walked away from a new Star Wars trilogy, which is set to be released in 2022.
David Benioff and DB Weiss wereset to direct the new series, but have since signed a five-year deal to make content for Netflix.
The pair signed for the streaming giant in August, after it won an intense bidding war for their signature with Amazon and Disney.
As a result, they now have announced that given their new busy schedules, something had to give.
In a statement to Deadline, Benioff and Weiss said: “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.
“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. “
Despite announcing they are stepping away from the franchise, Lucasfilm’s president, Kathleen Kennedy, said she looks forward to welcoming the pair back in the future to work on the Jedi-saga.
She said: “David Benioff and Dan Weiss are incredible storytellers.
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“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.”
Despite the worldwide success of Game Of Thrones, the final series brought mixed reviews, leading more than 1.5 million people to sign a petition that said: “David Benioff and DB Weiss have proven themselves to be woefully incompetent writers.”
The current Star Wars story wraps up in December, when thefinal episode in the Skywalker Sagais released, bringing to an end the nine-film series that has run since 1977 .
According toDisney’s release schedule, three new films are slated for 2022, 2024 and 2026, in an as-yet unknown trilogy, which is now on the hunt for new collaborators.
In the meantime, Star Wars fans have lots to look forward to alongside the closing of the Skywalker Saga, with a new live-action series calledThe Mandalorian,as well as a recently announced Obi-Wan Kenobi prequel show, coming toDisney’s new streaming servicewhich launches in the US next week.
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