Why Weiss & Benioff's Star Wars Trilogy Was Just CANCELLED

By Simon Gallagher / October 29, 2019

Timing is a hell of a thing, isn't it?

Just yesterday, reports appeared on social media of an appearance by DB Weiss and David Benioff at a Q&A session in which they seemingly confirmed the fears of the fanbase and explained their approach to making the show. It caused significant waves, because it was filled with lots and lots of major yikes statements that suggest a show being made at all was an astonishing achievement.

And now, hot off the back of that furore, the pair are no longer making a Star Wars film. Or three, to be more precise.

Timing...

But apparently, the two things are not directly related and the Game of Thrones apparently abandoned their plans to work on a trilogy of Star Wars movies for a different reason. They're just too busy.

The pair spoke to Deadline to confirm that their recent $200m deal with Netflix, which will tie them exclusively to the project, is going to take too much of their focus:

“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.”

That's a huge opportunity to walk away from, but then Netflix is a mighty draw and being handed $200m for an exclusive deal and also working with Disney on one of the most notoriously challenging creative properties of all time can't have ever been a smart mix. You have to wonder how happy Netflix were with their ongoing responsibilities when that deal was signed.

You probably also have to wonder whether Disney might not be sighing a bit of a sigh of relief after the Q&A stuff came out. Notoriously, LucasFilm have a very rigid approach to creative and certain expectations of their film-makers and their creative process. That's why we've seen so many "flavour of the month" directors hired and moved on or quietly pushed to the back of their own productions in favour of a dependable head. The idea of them working with a pair like Weiss and Benioff, whose approach to story on Thrones looks chaotic at best is a little... jarring.

Consider this, after all - Weiss and Benioff confirmed in the session that they basically had no idea why they were allowed to make Thrones...

And that they learned on the job...

This is surely some way at odds with the perception Disney want for the people guiding their Star Wars universe, isn't it? Look at Kevin Feige, then back to Weiss and Benioff and the gulf in perception at the very least is cavernous.

And then there's the question of whether they'd even be right for the property. Could they approach it the same way they did Thrones initially and strip out the core of what existing fans love about it in an effort to appeal to a wider audience?

There's no way LucasFilm and Disney would want that. Mass audience, yes, but another controversy about Star Wars not being Star Wars? No thank you.

Plus, there's literally no way Kathleen Kennedy would have taken well to them handing control of writing to their actors...

None of this is to say that Weiss and Benioff would do these things specifically with Star Wars, but the seeds are planted now. And if there was ever a rumbling of reshoots or some discontent on one of their Star Wars sets, you know that's how the story would spin out... "well, they did set a dangerous precedent with Thrones..." That sort of thing. It's a potential publicity nightmare that Disney have managed to negotiate without having to do anything about it.

To Disney's credit, they haven't closed the door on the pair as Kathleen Kennedy released her own statement:

“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.”

So what now? Will Kevin Feige make the step up that a lot of people seem to be expecting him to? Will his reported one movie deal expand into more titles? What would that mean for the MCU?

Or will Kathleen Kennedy look elsewhere for her big Star Wars creators? Could Jon Favreau get more to do in the wake of The Mandalorian? Don't rule that one out.

Whatever the case, there's now a trilogy of films sitting unassigned - assuming they still go ahead. They're still making Rian Johnson's trilogy, whether you like it or not and Feige's film sits in there too. And there's no way that's all we'll be getting.

We just won't be getting one from the creators of Thrones. Not now, anyway.