David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are no longer making a Star Wars trilogy

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are no longer making their Star Wars series. But is the backlash for Game of Thrones to blame for the split?

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are best known for bringing forth the astounding TV adaptation of Game of Thrones. But as of late, they have simply become the guys that destroyed the final season of Game of Thrones. The last season ended with a loud thud, and every fan who had supported the show since its inception was loudly proclaiming their disappointment. So when the pair took on a Star Wars trilogy as their next project, Star Wars fans were upset and afraid that their beloved fandom would experience the same fate.

However, Deadline now reports that Benioff and Weiss have stepped away from the post-Skywalker movie deal. They have stated that, though they were enthusiastic about Star Wars, they cannot continue because their schedules are full. Coincidently, this comes after the leaked content of their panel interview in one of their few appearances since Game of Thrones ended at the Austin Film festival — which could suggest that they may have pulled away because of the backlash they got after reportedly revealing their lack of knowledge and experience during the panel interview and proclaiming that they got to run the show anyway.

Although there doesn’t seem to be any audio evidence of the panel, several attendees imparted quotes from the interview on Twitter. It appears that Benioff and Weiss admitted that they had no experience making a TV show, and they didn’t know why George R.R. Martin even trusted them with his life’s work. Apparently, the reason they had to re-film the pilot was becuase they had managed to get everything from casting to costume wrong. Even so, HBO still greenlit the series.

Despite having supposedly read the Song of Ice and Fire book series the show is based on, Benioff and Weiss still didn’t understand the characters. In their defense, they probably had a lot to process — the novels are quite lengthy. But according to attendees, Benioff and Weiss admitted that they only just started to grasp the characters when HBO forced them to fulfill their contractual obligation of 100-minute episodes, which forced them to write extra content for the dismal 39 minutes they had put together. Benioff and Weiss also claimed they didn’t know enough to hire a writer’s room.

While the resentment toward Benioff and Weiss may just seem like a whole bunch of angry Game of Thrones nerds unhappy with HBO granting the rights to an epic classic to novices, it is much deeper than that. Most writers who want to see their work on TV struggle with getting work because the industry demands they have the right experience, training, and, most of all, the right connections. These obstacles are double for people of color who have to claw their way in with proof of their value.

For what it’s worth, Game of Thrones was still a good series for being a show put together by two people who supposedly had no clue what they were doing. The success of the show and myriad of accolades is a testament of just how well they fared not knowing anything when they went into making the show.

While the timing does align with the recent Game of Thrones comments, it’s also possible that the two backed out of making their Star Wars films to focus on the Netflix deal they recently landed. Under the $200 million film and TV deal, the two have agreed to make new projects for the streaming platform — and it’s likely working on a huge undertaking like Star Wars would conflicted with that commitment.

No one will ever know how Benioff and Weiss would have done with a Star Wars movie.  But the nervous Star Wars fandom can rest easy now that the future of the franchise will be in someone else’s hands.

What do you think of Benioff and Weiss exiting their Star Wars trilogy? Sound off in the comments.