Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have finally talked about their scrapped Star Wars movies. The two previously developed a Star Wars trilogy until it was canceled after they reportedly walked away from the project. As many wondered what these movies could be about, they now revealed what story they could have told.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Benioff said they wanted their Star Wars movie trilogy to be about the First Jedi. These films were supposed to tell how the Jedi Order started, why it had to be made, and the first lightsaber, among others. However, when Rian Johnson titled his 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, they admitted being completely annoyed.
“He completely destroyed the obvious title for what we were working on,” Weiss added.
Benioff explained that Lucasfilm initially didn’t want to do a story about the First Jedi. Rubbing more salt into the wound, the production company didn’t want to do the specific story they had in mind.
“And we totally get it,” he continued. “It’s their company and their IP, but we weren’t the droids they were looking for.”
Who was the First Jedi in Star Wars?
The First Jedi in Star Wars is known to be the Prime Jedi. This individual is the first to use the Force and the founder of the Jedi Order. He first appeared as a mosaic in The Last Jedi and was first identified in Pablo Hidalgo's reference book Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary.
The Star Wars creator George Lucas originally planned to delve into the origin story of the Jedi Order in Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace. However, the original trilogy’s producer, Gary Kurtz, revealed that the filmmaker had a change of heart and wrapped up the film series with Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.
Anyhow, the story of the First Jedi will finally be told with James Mangold at the helm. Titled Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, it will tell the story of the first Jedi and the Force.
During the Star Wars Celebration in 2023, Mangold told Comicbook that he wanted to do a movie set in the distant past that would reveal how the galaxy far, far away was formed and the Force was discovered. He even said this film was inspired by the religious epic movies Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments. So far, Dawn of the Jedi has yet to have an official release date.
Though Benioff and Weiss’ planned films about the First Jedi were canned, fans would still have a chance to explore this side of the Star Wars story with Mangold’s upcoming movie. We hope this project will see the light of day and give justice to the individual who started it all.
