Star Wars bombshell: Game of Thrones creators QUIT new Star Wars trilogy

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is soon to be released in cinemas worldwide. Fans have been teased with trailers, images and loads of reports about what will happen as the Skywalker saga comes to an end. But the future of the franchise may have been compromised by some shocking news about the upcoming trilogy.

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the pair behind Game of Thrones, have reportedly left their hugely lucrative deal with Disney’s Lucasfilm, meaning the upcoming film trilogy, which they were expected to launch in 2022, hangs in the balance.

Benioff and Weiss were expected to show the galaxy after the legend of Luke Skywalker with a new story for fans to become obsessed by, no doubt with new creatures, alien races and incredible landscapes to uncover.

However, the creative duo have cited the reason for their departure, according to Deadline, as a historic deal with Netflix, for whom they will be making a whole host of new content.

Reports suggest they said while they are still “enthusiastic” about Star Wars, their schedule has become too full to contain the epic space drama.

Speaking to Deadline, the pair said: “We love Star Wars.

“When George Lucas built it, he built us too.

“Getting to talk about Star Wars with him and the current Star Wars team was the thrill of a lifetime, and we will always be indebted to the saga that changed everything.”

At present, no news has been revealed as to whether the trilogy will be taken on by any other filmmakers.

Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, said in her statement: “David Benioff and Dan Weiss are incredible storytellers.

‘We hope to include them in the journey forward when they are able to step away from their busy schedule to focus on Star Wars.”

Clearly she is keen to have them in the fold, but there are plenty of other filmmakers still taking part.

At present, Marvel producer Kevin Feige and The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson are both expected to be behind new Star Wars movies – with Johnson writing a whole new trilogy of his own.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, however, Johnson gave away a little bit of information about the timelines of the latest trilogy.

He said: “The truth is they’re still figuring out their schedule, their game plan.

“If it’s possible for me to squeeze in another film before or while working on that, I will.”

Johnson has not mentioned what type of film he would want to squeeze in before working on the new trilogy, so there may even be a chance for another stand alone Star Wars film – if the timing is right.

Perhaps now that the GoT creators have stepped away, Johnson’s trilogy will become the next one to continue the post-Skywalker era.

However, at present, that has not been confirmed, and whether the Benioff/Weiss trilogy will be made by someone else has also not been confirmed.

What we do know is Rise of Skywalker will bring the current Skywalker saga, which covers a whopping nine films, as well as countless spin-off series and cartoons, to an end.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is released in cinemas on December 20