Canceled Benioff And Weiss ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy Was Going To Explore The Origins Of The Jedi
In the aftermath of the now-canceledDavid BenioffandD.B. WeissStar Warstrilogy, everyone can’t help but wonder both about what happened, and what the films were going to focus on. A new report might have gotten to the bottom of the story, although as is always the case with these sort of things, there’s a chance some details aren’t 100% accurate. From the sound of things, theGame of Thronesduo clashed with Lucasfilm. But had they gotten to make their trilogy, the plan was to focus on the origins of the Jedi.
Varietyhas the scoop on the canceled Benioff and WeissStar Warstrilogy. According to their story, the Benioff and Weiss films would “exist apart from the Skywalker family saga,” and focus on “exploring was how the Jedi came to exist.” At first everyone seemed on board with this concept. But Lucasfilm execs and Benioff and Weiss reportedly began to have different visions regarding the prospective trilogy.
Things grew even more tricky when Benioff and Weiss landed a huge $250 million production deal with Netflix. Some felt this was a sign that Benioff and Weiss were interested in moving beyondStar Warsto other projects. And while Netflix stated publicly they were well aware that the duo had commitments to Disney and Lucasfilm, behind-the-scenes they wanted exclusivity regarding Benioff and Weiss' output.
While the Variety story makes it sound like it was Netflix who was unhappy having to wait,THRhas their own take on the story, which says it was Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy who had an issue. Per THR, “is said to have been unhappy with the Netflix deal the duo signed,” and wasn’t convinced that Benioff and Weiss could “could truly juggle a sci-fi trilogy while also overseeing film and TV projects at Netflix.” THR also says that Benioff and Weiss were hesitant to jump into theStar Warsuniverse due to the perceived toxic fandom that has cropped up surrounding the series. Ultimately, the THR story heavily indicates it was Benioff and Weiss who really wanted out of this whole scenario.
In any case, once the relationship with Benioff and Weiss began to sour, Lucasfilm began taking meetings with other writers about potentialStar Warsideas. But Variety adds that “it’s unclear if these were just sit-downs exploring other related productions in the franchise’s cinematic and streaming universe.”
Much has been made at this point about the behind-the-scenes woes withStar Warscreatives. Benioff and Weiss are just the latest duo to leaveStar Warsbehind, joining a list that includes Josh Trank, Colin Trevorrow, and Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Whenever one of these stories pops up, all eyes fall on Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, who is the one calling the shots for the franchise as a whole. Some might be quick to assume Kennedy is hard to work with and not easy to please regarding the creative process, but if that’s the case, it’s not affecting her position anytime soon. The Variety piece firmly states that Kennedy’s job is “secure despite the churn of filmmaking talent,” and that rumors that Marvel’s Kevin Feige could be stepping in to take over the brand are inaccurate.
In the meantime, the future ofStar Warsmovies remains in question. Rian Johnson’s new trilogy is supposedly still happening, but we don’t know when. And while Kevin Feige may not be taking over the franchise, he is working on a film of his own. But beyond that, theStar Warsmovies are in a state of flux at the moment, culminating withStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerin December. Meanwhile, Disney hasStar Warsstreaming content to keep the series going.The Mandalorianwill debut next month with the Disney+ streaming service, and an Obi-Wan Kenobi series with Ewan McGregor is in the works as well.
