The announcement, which was made on the official Star Wars website, said the new films will be separate from the ongoing Skywalker saga, as well as the upcoming Star Wars trilogy from Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. Benioff and Weiss are hard at work on the final season of Game of Thrones, which is expected to air on HBO in 2019. The pair assured fans waiting for the latest tales from Westeros that the Star Wars series will not start development until after Game of Thrones is completed.
“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 joint 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.”
The pair were chosen to helm a new Star Wars series in part due to their masterful work at world building and crafting characters so popular that their not being dead is headline news. “David and Dan are some of the best storytellers working today,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, in a statement. “Their command of complex characters, depth of story, and richness of mythology will break new ground and boldly push Star Wars in ways I find incredibly exciting.”
The Game of Thrones creators’ new Star Wars films will not be the first instance of overlap between HBO’s hit drama and Disney’s Star Wars films. Emilia Clarke, who plays the ruthless Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones will play Qi’Ra in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story. Ian McElhinney, who plays Barristan Selmy on Game of Thrones, played General Dodonna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
As of now, there are no release dates or casting details for Benioff and Weiss’ upcoming Star Wars series. If the films are anything like Game of Thrones, we should be in for a bloody good time.
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