If you have functioning eyes and ears, then you’ve probably been bombarded with talk about Game of Thrones lately. HBO’s sprawling fantasy drama has one episode to go in its run, and it has lit up pop culture like a nuke. Unfortunately, a lot of the talk has not been good. While this final eighth season has provided us with some epic moments, its heavily dropped the ball on nearly everything else in-between. The strong character work and plotting of earlier seasons have been tossed out the window due to unnaturally accelerated pacing all because the show’s creators decided to cram all the necessary resolutions into just six final episodes. Why would they do this? Well, I have a theory. And it’s one that brings us to a totally different story today.
Last week Disney unveiled their new film release schedule. This was to reflect the acquisition of FOX, but also contained a surprise in a trio of Star Wars movies scheduled for December of 2022, 2024, and 2026 respectively. Why this was surprising is that not too long before that we had heard that Star Wars would be taking a break after the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker this coming December. Fans had expected a long hiatus, but according to Disney CEO Bob Iger during the investors conference call where the slate was revealed, “We’re hard at work already, but we felt three years was the proper amount of time to not only take a breather and reset, but to gear up for the next film’s release.”
But what were the next films? Well, it’s now been confirmed that these will, in fact, be the new trilogy being developed by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss that was announced back in February 2017. Speaking at the Moffett Nathanson Media & Communications Summit (via ComingSoon.net), Iger confirmed to attendees that “The Benioff and Weiss series will be the next Star Wars movies released.”
We currently know next to nothing about this upcoming trilogy other than it will not be a continuation of the Skywalker Saga – which comes to a close with Rise of the Skywalker – and has nothing to do with the other trilogy being developed by The Last Jedi’s Rian Johnson which will reportedly be set in a section of the Star Wars universe not explored before. Benioff and Weiss will be penning this new trilogy and producing, but no word on directors yet. Benioff and Weiss only have three episodes of Game of Thrones on their directing resume – including the series finale this coming Sunday – so I doubt they would be stepping behind the camera.
All of this brings me back around to Game of Thrones though and it’s current troubles. It made no sense to me that that both the 7-episode season 7 and 6-episode season 8 had such short episode counts. Yes, the running time of these episodes went up significantly, and the budget would have climbed exponentially due to all the massive setpieces, but this is literally the biggest TV series in the world. HBO could easily foot that bill. And it turns out they wanted to.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly from early last month that resurfaced this week, Benioff and Weiss revealed that “HBO would have been happy for the show to keep going, to have more episodes in the final season”. In fact, the cable broadcaster told the showrunners that “We’ll give you the resources to make this what it needs to be, and if what it needs to be is a summer tentpole-size spectacle in places, then that’s what it will be.”
However, it was Benioff and Weiss who insisted on the shorter seasons, saying “We always believed it was about 73 hours, and it will be roughly that. As much as they wanted more, they understood that this is where the story ends.” But why though? Why cap themselves off like this no matter what? Well, now in hindsight it starts to make sense. Could Benioff and Weiss have been intentionally cutting their time in Westeros short because they have another engagement in a galaxy far, far away? Did Game of Thrones just get dumped for Star Wars?
Last Updated: May 15, 2019
Yahtzee
May 15, 2019 at 10:07
Good thing I am not a SW fan or else I would be sweating my little death stars off if the current flow of GoT is anything to go by.
Original Heretic
May 15, 2019 at 10:07
GoT has suffered a bit with GRR Martin not being as involved.
I hope he actually finishes the books so that I can see the story the way it’s meant to be.
Guz
May 15, 2019 at 10:52
I’ve given up on him finishing them, think he hit a wall (HA!) a long time ago and just couldn’t be bothered to finish them,
RinceThis
May 15, 2019 at 10:15
Haha. he is never going to finish them, at least not in the same way he has the others. I mean he just released a PREQUEL to the whole story. Want an ending? Bah! I’ll give you a prequel that you never asked for!
HvR
May 15, 2019 at 10:15
I’m willing to bet that coronary disease will take Martin to the long winter long before the last book is finished.
That fact that is has been 8 years since Dance of Dragons makes me believe that he is living it up in retirement with his new wife not writing only pulling fans along to buy more of the books to fund the fun times.
RinceThis
May 15, 2019 at 12:23
Agreed. He also doesn’t seem to want to actually try finish them. Why is he writing prequels to the stories?
Original Heretic
May 15, 2019 at 12:30
Maybe he got bored? Working on the same story for so long, and all.
RinceThis
May 15, 2019 at 12:55
Not sure. I’ve read many feel he wrote himself into a corner. His style of writing if to let the character evolve (which up till 2 seasons ago was how the HBO show also had). However, by letting the characters actually do what they really would you kindda fuck the ultimate end up. HBO wants an ending (of course are all do) and so wrote the ending, then forced the characters into that ending, which is why they appear to do odd things.
HvR
May 15, 2019 at 13:32
The only criticism I feel it valid is that it feels a bit rushed and that White Walker generals and Golden Company ends up being cannon fodder.
The rest all fall inline with the characters and their past. That Daenerys
took so long to go Mad Queen of Wackoland is probably more not inline with not keeping with her backstory.
HvR
May 15, 2019 at 12:31
Think it is either that he just doesn’t give a fuck or he hyped himself up so much that he knows he can not deliver.
RinceThis
May 15, 2019 at 12:55
Same as the series. Though the last ep was epic as fuck
Original Heretic
May 15, 2019 at 10:23
It doesn’t look good. But there are storylines in the book that weren’t even hinted in the series. Catelyn Stark! What’s going on there?!?
Guz
May 15, 2019 at 10:52
Exactly! We know it, he knows it ,
Erelim
May 15, 2019 at 10:15
So the first two movies will be great with the last on being really disappointing?
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 15, 2019 at 10:23
I think the theory that they fobbed off Game of Thrones to get to Star Wars faster is incredibly thin. The show has literally made them, and they’re going to half-ass it now? Come on. Whether the last few episodes have been great or not can be discussed, but I’m pretty sure it means something to them and they are trying to finish it off in style (and succeeding).
RinceThis
May 15, 2019 at 10:44
Don’t take my privileged Internet rage away!
Quentin Huggett
May 15, 2019 at 10:23
Dumb and Dumber with a licence to ruin Star wars further then Ryan Johnson already did. Yo they messed up GOT bad
Brad Lang
May 15, 2019 at 10:30
Weird flex but ok
Admiral Chief Flammenwerfer
May 15, 2019 at 10:30
Lets hope they make a KotOR trilogy
HvR
May 15, 2019 at 10:44
So according to for your theory to make sense Disney signed them up in 2015.
Feel sorry for Benioff and Weiss, they went into this expecting to adapt screenplays from original work with the assistance of Martin.
Martin was the one that pulled himself away from the production since season 5 and they were stuck having to finish a series that Martin was supposed to finish in 2015.
They are were never going to good as Martin at writing the ending of the conclusion of the epic but they did a decent job.
Bookwankers should make peace with it and blame no one else but Martin. This is probably going to be the best ending they are going to get because Martin is going to die probably before book 6 is finished and then it will be finished by publisher paid writers and if want to know what a shit show that will be read Herbert’s Dune series.
Guz
May 15, 2019 at 10:52
Yip 100% but get B.Sanderson to finish it, he can do it! He finished “Wheel of Time” like a BOSS
HvR
May 15, 2019 at 11:20
True but remember Jordon knew he was probably going to die before he finished so he laid out the final book in extensive notes and plot for a follow up writer to complete it and he had completed about half of it at the time of his death.
Can not see Martin doing this.
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 15, 2019 at 10:52
Get this man a Bell’s.
RinceThis
May 15, 2019 at 10:59
You sir, win, the internet today https://media.giphy.com/media/YGJBp5EgyVP9K/giphy.gif
RinceThis
May 15, 2019 at 10:59
And one more for your ‘Bookwankers’ comment https://media.giphy.com/media/aLdiZJmmx4OVW/giphy.gif
HvR
May 15, 2019 at 11:07
Thank you thank you but credit where it is due. The awesome term bookwankers was borrowed from Ozzyman
Guz
May 15, 2019 at 11:28
I feel like I should be offended as said bookwanker, but I’m not as that is hilarious
Kervyn Cloete
May 15, 2019 at 11:21
I just mentioned in a different online discussion yesterday that I lay the blame wholly at Martin’s feet. What the hell has he actually been doing? I understand writing slowly or hitting a block, but this is actually ridiculous. If he had stuck to a reasonable schedule, none of this would have been an issue.
One thing though, Disney would not have needed to sign them up in 2015. Disney’s plans for the rest of the franchise was only really put in place in 2017.
Incubus
May 21, 2019 at 18:14
Never thought about it like that, good point.
Guz
May 15, 2019 at 10:44
Its not order 66 any more it’s order D&D
RinceThis
May 15, 2019 at 10:15
https://media.giphy.com/media/tyqcJoNjNv0Fq/giphy.gif
Guz
May 15, 2019 at 10:44
Well they have one more episode to redeem themselves, if they fuck it up I swear I wont go watch the star wars movies, sorry this may be a knee jerk reaction here, but I’m super invested in this show(as are many others) and so far its not living up to the previous standards imo, the plot has gone out the fucking window
edit: I I typed this while very angry