There was another immense Force disturbance within Lucasfilm Studios. As “Star Wars’” four-decade long Skywalker saga approaches its denouement, the trilogy that was intended to usher the franchise into a new era is now in flux after David Benioff and D.B. Weiss announced that they were bowing out due to time and schedule constraints.
They pair was tight-lipped about which direction their trilogy would steer the “Star Wars” franchise. However, a report published by Variety leaked significant details about the mothballed trilogy’s focus. The juiciest section of their report was the disclosure that Benioff and Weiss’ story would explore the origins of the Jedi.
“The Star Wars period the pair was interested in exploring was how the Jedi came to exist. However, Lucasfilm executives and the creators [began] to see their visions for the films diverge during meetings last summer,” Variety reported.
It’s a fascinating concept that presumably would explore the Sith origins as well, which makes this turn of events all the more disappointing. Benioff and Weiss’ departure marks the second time this year they have departed in controversial fashion from a renowned franchise. The first film were slated to roll into theatres on Dec. 16 2022, but in August, the inseparable duo also scored a five-year, $250 million development deal with Netflix, that understandably took precedent over their “Star Wars” project.
Although, Lucasfilms chief Kathleen Kennedy signaled interest in Benioff and Weiss returning to “Star Wars’” cinematic universe once their Netflix obligations are fulfilled, that seems highly unlikely for a litany it reasons. Benioff and Weissmay have done themselves and the embattled Kennedy a favor by abandoning “Star Wars.”
Kennedy’s contract expires in 2021 and another round of bad news during a production could have been a nail in the coffin of her rocky Lucasfilm tenure. This isn’t the first time a filmmaker has come to realize the feeling of making a “Star Wars” film was less like the adrenaline rush of piloting the Millenium Falcon and more akin to being chained to Jabba the Hut. In 2015, director Josh Trank’s stand-alone “Star Wars” film was scuttled.
The third act of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was re-written by Tony Gilroy and re-shot after Kennedy viewed Gareth Edwards’ first cut. “Solo” directors Chris Lord and Phil Miller were replaced mid-shoot by Ron Howard, and the original “Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker” director Colin Trevorrow was fired before filming even wrapped on “The Last Jedi.”
Since “Game of Thrones’” run ended, Benioff and Weiss have avoided interactions with fans of their Emmy-winning HBO series and public forums. Instead, they were quietly fleshing out a treatment for their “Star Wars” trilogy. Initially, they were expected to pen the scripts for all three films until scaling down their commitment to one script, after dig ning the aforementioned Netflix deal. Unfortunately, the idea that they could mine George Lucas’ brain for Star Wars lore, and adapt it as they did previously did with George RR Martin’s source material never came to fruition.
After absorbing blistering rebukes from “Game of Thrones” viewers over their rushed ending to the series, and taking in all the negative reaction to their mothballed “Confederate” series, another polarizing project or immense box office failure could have been devastating to their still burgeoning brand.
In addition, given how widely panned their handling of the Night King’s origins were and their sacreligious comments about declining to adapt many of the fantasy elements of George RR’s novels, tackling a piece of cultural sci-if zeitgeist, such as the origins of the Jedi seems to be the sort of risky highwire act Benioff and Weiss don’t have the stomach for anymore. One source told The Hollywood Reporter that the duo was anxious about the “toxic fandom” of “Star Wars” fandom.
“The Last Skywalker” director J.J. Abrams’ could probably identify with that sentiment after LOST fans forgot about the shows mostly successful run when the showrunners couldn’t execute the landing. However, for Abrams, a professed sci-fi lover and Star Wars buff, the two “Star Wars” films he directed were passion projects. He embraced obsessive fans with “LOST,” “Star Trek,” and “Star Wars.” That was not the case with the less-experienced and more think-skinned, Benioff and Weiss.
Their rumored Jedi origin saga was intended to be the introduction to the Disney franchise’s post-Skywalker big screen future, putting them under an even more intense microscope. It took Benioff and Weiss almost a decade to incur the wrath of “Game of Thrones’” fans and this time they wisely got out before fans could arm themselves with pitchforks.
As Lucasfilm proceeds in an era of cinematic worldbuilding, their galaxy has been littered with the ruins of shambolic planned films and disgruntled visionaries’ grand blueprints.
There’s no telling whether Lucasfilm will hand off their Jedi origin film to another filmmaker or shelve the idea for now. However, given that Kennedy was previously plotting out a decade of big screen and small screen “Star Wars” adventures, it would stand to reason that Lucasfilm will eventually tap another endeavoring filmmaker to pick up the Jedi origins project Benioff and Weiss dropped. On the other hand, Disney CEO Bob Iger also said a “less is more,” quality over quantity strategy could benefit the “Star Wars” brand.
However, “Star Wars” interest hasn’t waned despite Lucasfilm’s turmoil. “The Mandalorian” is receiving critical acclaim ahead of its Disney+ release this month, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe Kevin Feige is involved with an undisclosed future project and “Last Jedi” director, Rian Johnson’s trilogy is still in the works, so there’s a ton of feature content being wheeled out by the Lucasfilm barrel in the 2020’s.
