Star Wars: Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss quit new trilogy

Pair were due to write and direct new trilogy scheduled to begin in 2022

David Benioff and DB Weiss collecting gongs for Game of Thrones at the Emmys 2016 (Getty Images)

Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss have backed out of a planned Star Wars film trilogy, blaming their commitments to Netflix.

In February, it was announced that the pair were due to write and direct a new trilogy of Star Wars movies that would begin in 2022. The films would follow the current Star Wars trilogy, which ends in December with The Rise of Skywalker.

But the pair have now announced that their commitments to Netflix mean they can no longer work on the franchise.

In a statement to Deadline, the duo 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.”

They continued: “There are only so many hours in the day, and we felt we could not do justice to both Star Wars and our Netflix projects. So we are regretfully stepping away.”

In a separate statement, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said: “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.”

Benioff and Weiss are currently in the early stages of planning new content for Netflix, having signed a reported $200 million deal in August to write, produce and direct new films and television for the service.

Their exit from the Star Wars trilogy will spark further questions about the franchise’s cinematic future.

A new trilogy to be written by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is currently in development, as is an unknown Star Wars project to be produced by Marvel boss Kevin Feige.