Disney and Lucasfilm will soon fuse the “Star Wars” franchise with creative energy currently found on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the showrunners for George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels, are officially on board to write and produce tales for “a galaxy far, far away.” The deal is good news for Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who has weathered controversies surrounding director Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and the upcoming “Solo: A Star Wars Story”.
“David and Dan are some of the best storytellers working today,” Ms. Kennedy said in a statement. “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.”
“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 added in a statement of their own. “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.”
The Hollywood Reporter noted that production of a new “Star Wars” film series is likely to jeopardize the future of HBO’s planned slave drama “Confederate.”
“That series was eyed to launch in either 2018 or 2019, after Benioff and Weiss completed their work on the final season of Thrones,” THR reported. “With the delay of Thrones’ final season as well as their involvement in Star Wars — for which there is no timetable — the future of the project remains murky.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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