David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the writers behind the Game of Thrones TV series, have decided to quit their work on the planned upcoming Star Wars trilogy.
The pair had officially announced their involvement in the beloved franchise earlier this year, while the final season of Game of Thrones was still airing.
The news received mixed reactions, as many GoT viewers considered the show’s final episodes to be disappointing and unfaithful to writer George R. R. Martin’s storytelling. As a result, Star Wars fans expressed their concern for the future of the beloved franchise.
Weiss and Benioff’s new trilogy was set to kick off with a 2022 film, the first to come after this year’s Rise of Skywalker, which will bring the current story arc to a conclusion.
You can check out the trailer here:
However, the writers have now announced their decision to quit the project, attributing their departure to their work on Netflix projects, Variety reports.
They expressed their regret in a joint statement, saying:
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.
But 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.
Many Twitter users were quick to comment on the news, with some slating the writers for ‘rushing’ Game of Thrones in order to work on Star Wars, while others suggested the writers chose to step down because of the bad reaction to GoT.
One fan wrote:
Thankfully it has just been announced that Benioff and Weiss are out of Star Wars. They can now go on to destroy something else.
While another tweeted:
Benioff and Weiss: “Lets speed up and ruin Game of Thrones so we can do Star Wars”
Also Benioff and Weiss: “We can’t do Star Wars now”
Though the pair have decided to step away, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy expressed hope for their involvement in the future.
She said:
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.
Disney announced their new trilogy in May, with films arriving in December 2022, December 2024 and December 2026, however it’s as yet unclear who will now step in to take over from Weiss and Benioff.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.