'Game of Thrones' creators step away from 'Star Wars' trilogy

'There are only so many hours in the day, and we felt we could not do justice to Star Wars,' the makers said

Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D B Weiss have exited from the Star Wars trilogy, after being attached for more than a year to develop a new trilogy of films beyond the Skywalker Saga. Their series of films were slated to have begun in December 2022.

In a statement given to Deadline, the duo said, “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.”

PHOTO: FILE

On August 7, Benioff and Weiss signed a $200 million megadeal to develop new projects with Netflix, which made their creative plates very full. Some fans had been grumbling about the prospect of their Star Wars trilogy in the aftermath of the widely criticised final season of Game of Thrones, even though that final season did go on to win the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, among others.

As of October 25, Disney had staked out release dates for untitled Star Wars films in 2022, 2024, and 2026. In an earnings call earlier this year, just before the Game of Thrones finale, CEO Bob Iger said that those dates were for Benioff and Weiss’s trilogy - they had previously been announced as developing a trilogy in February 2018.

Photo: Helen Sloan/HBO

Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy’s statement to Deadline seemed to leave the possibility of the team’s return at a later date: “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 news of Benioff and Weiss’ departure comes just hours after Lucasfilm debuted a second, longer trailer for their first-ever live-action series, The Mandalorian, which will launch with Disney+ on November 12.

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