David Benioff and D.B. Weiss may have been popularly known for being the creators of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, but the two are once again in the spotlight, thanks to the success of their recent show, 3 Body Problem, on Netflix. But before the duo made a deal with the streamer, they were first set to do a Star Wars movie focusing on the Jedi Order. However, while the showrunners were already working on the movie, Lucasfilm canceled the project, and they now revealed how far they had developed the film about the First Jedi.
In a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Weiss and Benioff shared the works they had done for the canceled Star Wars movie before Lucasfilm decided to pull the plug. The project was supposed to be a trilogy, and aside from the first film, they had already made the outline for the other two movies, but then they were all canceled.
“I think we got relatively far, story-wise, with the first one,” Weiss told the host, Josh Horowitz. “We like had a basic roadmap to the other two, and it was a shame.”
He then talked about the Hollywood ratio and how the projects in development end up not being made while others managed to “get away” for some reason--even if they weren’t meant to be. Sadly, one of those canceled projects happened to be from them. But despite the cancellation, Weiss just “let go” of things cause if not, he admitted he would drive himself “completely crazy.”
The talk then went to the awkward turn of events when Lucasfilm greenlit James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi film, which was basically about the beginnings of the Jedi, just like their canceled movie. But Weiss confirmed no bad blood between them, confessing his love for the director.
“I love Jim; he's a great dude. So... all the best of luck to him,” he said.
Why did Lucasfilm cancel David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ Star Wars movie?
Lucasfilm first announced its plans for a new Star Wars trilogy that would be created by Benioff and Weiss in 2018. However, the project was canceled just after a year due to alleged creative differences. The first movie was set to be about the Jedi Order and how and why it came to be. But Benioff told Variety that the studio wasn’t interested in doing a First Jedi story, resulting in the cancellation of the trilogy.
“We had a very specific story idea in mind, and ultimately, they decided they didn't want to do that,” he explained. “And we totally get it. It's their company and their IP, but we weren't the droids they were looking for.”
Though Weiss and Benioff failed to make a leap to the Star Wars franchise, they ended up making a big deal with Netflix. That said, aside from 3 Body Problem, which is now streaming on the service, fans can look forward to seeing more content from these two in the future.
