Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

‘Game of Thrones’ showrunners walk away from their ‘Star Wars’ trilogy

Updated Oct 29th, 2019 7:37AM EDT
Game of Thrones
Image: Alex Berliner/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Game of Thrones

showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss made the news earlier this week, after speaking at the Austin Film Festival and casually revealing they had no idea of what they were doing at various points during the creation of what’s still the best show on television. The two came under fire for the way they handled the final season of the show. The writing was sub-par for most of the show, and fans trolled Benioff and Weiss with the help of Google and started two petitions that went viral. The most popular one was asking HBO to remake season 8 with more competent writers, while a second petition targeted Disney, asking the studio to put a halt to the Star Wars trilogy that D&D were supposed to make. While HBO will not remake season 8, Star Wars fans should be happy to hear that Benioff and Weiss have officially stepped away from the project.

The Game of Thrones showrunners were supposed to create the first Star Wars story that would explore the universe in the aftermath of the Skywalker saga, but they’re no longer attached to the project. The quality of writing for Game of Thrones started slipping as soon as they ran out of original material, so maybe it’s a good idea not to leave Benioff and Weiss in charge of shaping up the post-Skywalkers Star Wars stories.

The two told Deadline that the reason for ditching Star Wars is their recently inked Netflix contract:

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.

The final Thrones season felt rushed when it comes to the storytelling, a mistake Benioff and Weiss will hopefully not repeat now that they’ve realized there are only so many hours in the day.

Their trilogy should have hit cinemas in 2022, but it’s unclear whether Disney will go forward with the schedule, now that Benioff and Weiss stepped away from the franchise. On the other hand, we already know that Rian Johnson and Kevin Feige will both be involved in future Star Wars plans.

As for Disney, the studio didn’t necessarily close the door to future collaboration with the duo, according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy:

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.

The final chapter in the Skywalker saga opens on December 20th.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.