Game of Thrones and Star Wars fans unite! The news that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would be developing a new slate of Star Wars films was originally announced back in February 2018, though we haven't heard much about it since. Now we understand why, as the collaboration has grown a bit since it was first announced (and the guys have become slightly less busy).
HBO president Casey Bloys recently told TVLine that Benioff and Weiss have been asked to develop a total of three new films for the blockbuster franchise—which is why the pair has had to delay the start of production on Confederate, the controversial sci-fi series they're developing for HBO.
“Dan and David are finishing up the final season and then they are going to go into the Star Wars universe,” Bloys said. “When they come out of that, I assume they will come back to us.”
For their part, Lucasfilm is clearly excited to have the in-demand creative duo onboard as the company continues to find new and inventive ways to expand the Star Wars universe. "David and Dan are some of the best storytellers working today," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy previously stated. "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."
Weiss and Benioff are equally thrilled to be a part of the Star Wars world. “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 last year. “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.”
Though no timeline has been confirmed, rumors claim that a script is almost done and that the pair's first film could premiere as soon as 2021.