The rumour that we’ve been speculating about for months is finally official. The next Star Wars film following the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, The Rise of Skywalker will be by the creative geniuses behind the Game of Thrones TV Series, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Over the course of the past decade or so, Benioff and Weiss have given us some of the best episodes of television ever put to screen, adapted of course from George R. R. Martin’s masterful novels.
During today’s MoffetNathanson Media & Communications Summit, chairman of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger confirmed that Benioff and Weiss would be spearheading the next Star Wars film that’s set to hit the big screens in December 2022. Previously we were unclear if the next film would be by Rian Johnson (who’s also currently working on some Star Wars projects) or by the Game of Thrones duo.
“I haven’t seen [Episode] 9 finished yet, but I’m confident based on the pieces that I’ve seen and the script that I’ve read that it’s going to be extremely popular. [But we felt] that it would be smart of us to take a bit of a hiatus while we figure out what’s next. Now we’re not going to wait until [Episode] 9 is released and then start figuring it out. We’re actually hard at work doing that already.
The conclusion that we reached was three years was the proper amount of time to not only take a breather and reset, but to really gear up for the next films released. We did a deal with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who are famous for Game of Thrones, and the next movie we release will be theirs. And we’re not saying anything more about that.”
It was previously reported that Star Wars would be going on a three-year big screen hiatus after the release of The Rise of Skywalker. However, there will still be Star Wars content coming out on the screen starting with The Mandalorian which will drop on Disney Plus at its launch later this year.
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When news of Benioff and Weiss’ Star Wars movies first dropped, the writing-producing duo expressed their excitement:
“In the summer of 1977 we travelled to a galaxy, far, far away, and we’ve been dreaming of it ever since. We are honoured by the opportunity, a little terrified by the responsibility, and so excited to get started as soon as the final season of Game of Thrones is complete.”
Benioff and Weiss may not be directing their trilogy. While we still have no idea who exactly will be directing the trilogy, it’s safe to assume that Benioff and Weiss will spearhead the series of films as writers and producers and collaborate with other directors as they do with Game of Thrones. Could we see Miguel Sapochnik (Battle of the Bastards, Winds of Winter, Battle of Winterfell, The Bells) direct at least one of these movies? A man can dream.
While the exact story of Benioff and Weiss’ trilogy has not been confirmed, I speculate that it will be indeed the much rumoured about Lord of the Rings style movies set in the Old Republic.
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