EXCLUSIVE:David BenioffandD.B. Weiss, the duo who in 2011 launched the singular screen sensation known asGame of Thrones,have walked away from their much-publicized deal with Disney’s Lucasfilm to launch a feature film trilogy in 2022.
Benioff and Weiss were supposed to usher in the post-Skywalkera era of theStar Warsbrand with a 2022 new-start story that would stake out a new frontier for the era-defining cinema brand created by George Lucas. The Emmy-winning pair cited their historic deal with Netflix. They said their enthusiasm for Star Wars remains boundless but, regrettably, their schedule is full up.
“We loveStar Wars, ”the pair said in a statement to Deadline. “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. ”
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That 2022 release date made the Benioff / Weiss start-up the next-in-lineStar Warsinstallment following this December’sThe Rise of Skywalker,the finale chapter of the Skywalker family chronicles that have been captivating moviegoers since
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has plenty of otherStar Warsprojects in the hopper – (The Rise of Skywalker) **************************** (in December) ,The Madalorianin (dayson Disney , and the rampingEwan McGregor series, to name just three – so it’s unclear how much of a setback the now-nixed trilogy presents. There’s no shortage of upcoming collaborators lined up, either, among themRian JohnsonandKevin Feige
Kennedy didn’t close shut any doors in her send-off statement on Monday: “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. ”
Clearly, it’s a big-fizzle ending for the firecracker-fuse headline from February 2018 when the deal was announced. But the duo’s deal arguably lost some luster during the much-maligned final season ofGame of Thronesearlier this year as many fans questioned whether theGOTcreators had the storytelling chops to handle a Jedi saga.
In the end, however, it appears the tandem’s deficiency was in time, not talent. In August, Deadlinebroke the newsthat theGOTduo had signed a nine-figure deal with Netflix and, on Monday, that commitment was the one that brought about the end of the Great Westeros Experiment by Disney and Lucasfilm.
“There are only so many hours in the day, and we felt we could not do justice to bothStar Warsand our Netflix projects, ”theGOTpair said in a statement to Deadline. “So we are regretfully stepping away.”
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