By: Dominic Jones
Disney CEO Bob Iger has clarified the release schedule of future Star Wars movies today during a Q&A at the 6th Annual MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit. Last week, it was announced that the next Star Wars film, after The Rise of Skywalker, would be released in December 2022 (three years later) with more movies coming every other year until 2026. Today, during the Q&A, Iger revealed that this first film in 2022 would be made by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
The news was first reported by Attractions Magazine, who live tweeted the event.
The next #StarWars film to be released after the end of the Skywalker Saga will be by #GameOfThrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. $DIS— Attractions Magazine (@Attractions) May 14, 2019
The question of who would be making the 2022 Star Wars film (as well as, potentially, the follow-ups in 2024 and 2026) had been the subject of some debate among fans. Prior to the release date announcements (as well as the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, whose failure at the box office likely led to this revamped schedule), Lucasfilm had announced two new series of films. One being a series from Benioff & Weiss, and the other being a trilogy of films from The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson. Now, at least, we know which one will come first (assuming we see both series').
There has also been speculation that the two projects have been combined in some way. Back at Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Entertainment Weekly that Benioff & Weiss were, "working very closely with Rian." When the Benioff & Weiss series was announced, the duo were only revealed to be the writers and producers--could we be heading towards a scenario where Benioff and Weiss produce the film and Johnson directs? Given that Johnson usually writes and directs his own work (though he did make an exception for Breaking Bad), it seems unlikely.
There's no denying that Game of Thrones has become a cultural touchstone over its eight year run, which has made Benioff & Weiss an attractive choice for studios. However, the response to the final season (the series finale airs this Sunday) has been very mixed. Personally, I've felt the show has been on the decline since they ran out of source material from author George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels (which are still being written). It will be interesting to see how they handle something like Star Wars, which has a rich lore but, where they can create their own story from the beginning.
Obviously, there are still a long wait between now and the release of the film on December 16th, 2022 and a lot can change. And there are still many questions to be answered about these new films, with the next major questions being who will Benioff & Weiss bring in to direct? Be it Johnson, one of their Game of Thrones directors, or someone else. And then, of course, we have many years of casting rumors to look forward to as we look forward to the film's release. Fortunately, if you're not interested in rumors, there will be plenty of Star Wars on Disney+ to keep us entertained.
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