David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the writers who turned George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novels into a television phenomenon, will be writing and producing a new series of Star Wars films.
We’re starting to get a vague sense of Disney and Lucasfilm’s plans for the Star Wars franchise after the release of Episode IX next year — they already announced that Last Jedi director Rian Johnson will be making a new trilogy of films.
Today’s announcement emphasizes that the Benioff-Weiss films will be separate from Johnson’s work and from “the episodic Skywalker saga.” It also includes a statement from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who said Benioff and Weiss will “break new ground and boldly push Star Wars in ways I find incredibly exciting.”
So: Lots more Star Wars movies (no surprise), but not necessarily tied to the characters created by George Lucas, or the ones introduced in The Force Awakens.
Benioff and Weiss still need to wrap up the final season of Game of Thrones — not only are they the showrunners, but they write most of the episodes and have said they’re going to direct the series finale. After that, however, they won’t be involved in HBO’s spin-offs, and the status of their controversial alternate history series remains unclear, so it’s possible that Star Wars will have their undivided attention.
“In the summer of 1977 we traveled to a galaxy far, far away, and we’ve been dreaming of it ever since,” Benioff and Weiss said in a statement. “We are honored 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.”