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Disney’s vision for the future: at long last, something is happening
by Luca Fontana
Hard blow for Disney: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will not be making a Star Wars trilogy
29.10.2019
Translation: machine translated
The creators of Game of Thrones have given up on the next Star Wars trilogy. This decision is said to be due to a contract binding them to Netflix for several years. Who will replace them?
As announced by online magazine Deadline Hollywood, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss are dropping out of the Star Wars project. In 2011, the duo launched the acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones. As showrunners, the two acolytes oversaw the series in terms of content, creation and administrative aspects right up to the final episode released last spring. In February 2018, the supposed pinnacle of their careers: they announced a new trilogy Star Wars.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
According to a statement from Benioff and Weiss to Deadline Hollywood, they have to drop out of the Star Wars project, as their contract with Netflix would not allow them to invest enough in Star Wars.
So no Star Wars in 2022?
Not much is known about the deal with Netflix announced last August by Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. It would be a "multi-year" deal in which Benioff and Weiss would have committed to "writing, producing and directing" new series and films for Netflix. A commitment that would leave the Game of Thrones creators too little time to get the new Star Wars trilogy off the ground, the first episode of which was due to be released in 2022.
A day only has 24 hours and we don't think we'll be able to do Star Wars and our Netflix projects justice if we have to work on both fronts. So we have to abandon one project.
Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm and producer of the new Star Wars films, has yet to announce how Disney plans to get out of this bad patch. However, the studio has enough projects in the pipeline to replace him. Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is still working on a new Star Wars trilogy that doesn't yet have a release date. That could change quickly.
Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige will also be involved in the creation of at least one film about a galaxy far, far away, possibly sooner rather than later. Although Kevin Feige, too, is likely to have a full schedule with the Spider-Man deal recently struck with Sony.
Speaking of Kathleen Kennedy, she also spoke out following the news:
David Benioff and Dan Weiss are incredible storytellers. I hope to see them involved in Star Wars again as soon as their schedule allows.
So Benioff and Weiss aren't abandoning Star Wars because of the debacle caused by the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones. Even if many fans are no longer prepared to feel sorry for them.
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
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