Game of Thrones Duo Drops Out of Star Wars Trilogy

Hot off ending Game of Thrones to (mostly) critical acclaim, the writing duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were supposed to create the next Star Wars trilogy to follow after conclusion of the Skywalker Saga starting in 2022. Shortly after that they also signed a $100,000,000 plus figure deal with Netflix to create for the streaming service. Apparently the battle of the mega bucks was too much as the pair announced "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 [from Star Wars]."

While money usually is a root cause of most things Hollywood, I can't help but wonder if cold feet played a part. Fans have had their doubts the team could produce an interesting Star Wars trilogy considering what Game of Thrones became once they left the guidance of George R.R. Martin's books with a focus on amazing visuals bound by mostly cliched story lines and predictable character arcs. Which to be fair is a writing style that is actually perfect for Star Wars. Then again even a cursory glance at their IMDB writing credits like X-Men Origins: Wolverine (the one that somehow got Deadpool wrong), Troy, and Gemini Man doesn't exactly instill confidence in even that low bar. End result is if you are a fan of the duo, Netflix will be your source for something at some point in the future. Until then, it looks like Lucasfilm is on the hunt for someone else to take the reigns. Good luck to whoever next enters the Star Wars gauntlet (but no, just no, to JJ Abrams as he had his shot and didn't take it).

Three New Star Wars Films Scheduled

Today Disney announced a slate of new movies that in the planning stages for the next half decade or so. The schedule includes Star Wars which now has three movies planned with the first arriving in 2022. No other details were announced about the films or even if these is a new trilogy (its obviously a new trilogy). Disney is combining these films with Avatar so their grand plan is pretty simple, own every Christmas box office for the next 6 or so years.

- May 1, 2020 - Untitled Marvel film
- December 2020 - Cruella de Vil film
- November 6, 2020 - Untitled Marvel film
- May 7, 2021 - Untitled Marvel Film
- July 9, 2021 - Indiana Jones 5
- November 5, 2021 - Untitled Marvel film
- December 17, 2021 - Avatar 2
- February 18, 2022 - Untitled Marvel film
- May 6, 2022 - Untitled Marvel film
- July 29, 2022 - Untitled Marvel film
- December 16, 2022 - Untitled Star Wars
- December 22, 2023 - Avatar 3
- December 20, 2024 - Untitled Star Wars
- December 19, 2025 - Avatar 4
- December 18, 2026 - Untitled Star Wars
- December 17, 2027 - Avatar 5

Rian Johnson Set to Create New Star Wars Trilogy

In a new announcement from Disney, Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson has been effectively anointed the new "George Lucas" of the Star Wars universe. From StarWars.com:

Lucasfilm is excited to announce that Johnson will create a brand-new Star Wars trilogy, the first of which he is also set to write and direct, with longtime collaborator Ram Bergman onboard to produce.

As writer-director of The Last Jedi, Johnson conceived and realized a powerful film of which Lucasfilm and Disney are immensely proud. In shepherding this new trilogy, which is separate from the episodic Skywalker saga, Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.

Since this is about as wide open a door as any creator can get in an already established universe, the result will be anyone's guess. However it is a safe bet to assume that Episode IX which is currently scheduled for December 2019 will most likely conclude the current Star Wars saga's focus on the Skywalker family.