Disney just had another setback in a galaxy far, far away.
The writing and producing duo behind the success of HBO’s Game of Thrones is walking away from the future Star Wars project, a new trilogy that will never see it’s anticipated 2022 release. Abandoning the highly publicized deal with Disney’s Lucasfilm, first announced this May, brings a significant blow to the franchise, as David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were expected to usher the Star Wars-sphere into a universe beyond George Lucas’ original story.
The deal ends on good terms, though. The dissolution is the result of Benioff and Weiss’ busy schedules (with a nine-figure Netflix deal on their plates) and not from any creative differences with the studio, such as those Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy has had to deal with in the past.
“We love Star Wars,” the Westeros duo says in a Deadline exclusive. “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.”
This doesn’t mean the end for any future involvement in the Star Wars series, as Kennedy says she “hope[s] to include them in the journey forward when they are able to step away from their busy schedule to focus on Star Wars.”
With the release of Disney+ in November, there’s enough Star Wars content to go around. For now.
Photo: HBO
