There have been rumblings this could be the case after they signed a nine-figure deal with Netflix, but it's now been confirmed that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will no longer take charge of a new
Star Wars trilogy for Disney and Lucasfilm. The first chapter was expected to be released in 2022, but scheduling issues seem to have put an end to that idea.
"We love Star Wars," the filmmakers said in a joint statement. "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."
"David Benioff and Dan Weiss are incredible storytellers," Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy adds.
"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." Unfortunately, if that does happen, it won't be for close to a decade, as they're tied into the aforementioned deal with Disney+ rival Netflix.
"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," the
Game of Thrones showrunners concluded.
"So we are regretfully stepping away."
Many fans argued that Benioff and Weiss didn't have the creative chops to deliver a new
Star Wars trilogy after the disappointing
Game of Thrones finale, and it's hard not to wonder if that factored into their decision to walk away from this Galaxy Far, Far Away. After all, they've already dealt with one rabid fanbase so why risk incurring the wrath of another?
Either way, Disney's big screen plans for the
Star Wars franchise now remain up in the air.
Hit the "View List" button to take a look at some recent
Star Wars news, including possible Rise of Skywalker spoilers!
Solo: A Star Wars Story Writer Says "The Studio Blew It"
Solo: A Star Wars Story underwent a change of director and massive reshoots, but ultimately still flopped at the box office. As a result, Disney decided to re-evaluate how they approach the franchise, and writer Lawrence Kasdan has now spoken out about what he feels went wrong for the spinoff.
After saying that he had a
"very good experience" working on the movie alongside his son Jonathan, Kasdan added:
"Then the studio blew it...but that’s not unusual." Ouch.
SYFY Wire adds that the writer is no longer interested in working on the franchise and instead wants to direct.
Is he referring to Disney or Lucasfilm? Either way, these comments are pretty damning, and it's clear he believes the movie was better off before they started making such big changes.
A Very Unique New TIE Fighter For The Mandalorian
We've seen a number of TIE Fighters over the years and while they've all been different colours and designs, they mostly stick to the same familiar version. Well, The Mandalorian will clearly be taking things in a very... unique direction based on a t-shirt shared by
DesignByHumans.
As you can see above, the show (which is set a few years after the events of
Return of the Jedi) will feature an "Outland TIE Fighter" which appears to be part-TIE Fighter, part-X-Wing. This is actually a design we saw in concept art for
The Force Awakens a few years back.
Will The Rise Of Skywalker Feature A Surprise Cameo?
Pretty much the entire plot of
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has been revealed thanks to various plot leaks, but the movie's final battle is definitely shrouded in secrecy for the most part.
The question is, after Yoda's surprise cameo in
The Last Jedi, will we also get a similar shocker in this movie? Well, according to a rumour shared by
Showbiz411, Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen is set to reprise the role, presumably as the Force Ghost we saw at the end of
Return of the Jedi.
There was concept art depicting this in
The Force Awakens, so J.J. Abrams returning to that well wouldn't be a massive surprise. The same report points to Han Solo also showing up here.
A New, Behind The Scenes Look At Cara Dune
The Mandalorian is mostly shrouded in secrecy despite being set to arrive on Disney+ in a matter of weeks. Now, star Gina Carano has taken to social media to share a new look at Cara Dune.
The character has been featured alongside Pedro Pascal's Madalorian and Taika Waititi's IG-11 on a lot of promo art, so she's clearly going to be one of the show's leads. This photo obviously doesn't reveal a huge amount about what we should expect, but Dune looks like a total badass!
How Dominic Monaghan Joined The Star Wars Franchise
The latest trailer for
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker offered a glimpse at Dominic Monaghan's character, and the actor has now shed some light on how he landed the role of a Resistance fighter.
According to the latest episode of the Distraction Pieces with Scroobius Pip podcast (via
Inverse), it all rode on a football match between England and Colombia.
"At the start of that game, because J.J. is a motherf*cker in the best way possible, he emailed me and he said, ‘I think I have a Star Wars part for you,’" Monaghan recalled.
"And I wrote back and said, ‘Brilliant, I won’t bother you but let me know if there’s anything I can do or what I can say.’ He wrote back and said, ‘If England beat Colombia, you’re in.’ I was like, oh mate, you bastard." After a penalty shootout, he received a text saying simply, "You’re in."
Over the weekend, Hasbro revealed more "The Black Series" action figures from
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and, as you can see, The Knights of Ren and Zorii Bliss are now coming soon!
They're highly detailed, bound to be expensive, and sure to be a must-have for fans of the franchise in the not too distant future. We'll keep you guys updated as more of these are revealed.
The Mandalorian's Budget
We know that Disney isn't shying away from spending huge money on its Disney+ streaming service, and that includes
The Mandalorian. Speaking at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that reports the show cost around $12.5 million - $15 million per episode (without getting too specific, of course).
He noted that,
"We’re in this for the long run. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves."
They say that you have to spend money to make money, and that certainly seems to be the approach with Disney+. After all, a second season of
The Mandalorian is already being shot.