Lucasfilm
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"
- "Game of Thrones" creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have struck an overall global TV and movie deal with Netflix, but still have other commitments.
- The duo are still developing a new "Star Wars" trilogy for Disney, which was among the companies interested in landing them, according to Deadline.
- The deal could derail Benioff and Weiss' planned "Confederate" TV series at HBO, which was met with controversy when announced in 2017.
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David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators of HBO's hit fantasy drama "Game of Thrones," have landed a huge global deal with Netflix to write, produce, and direct movies and TV in the wake of the "Thrones" series finale. But they still have commitments outside of the streaming giant to take care of.
Most notably, the pair are developing the next "Star Wars" trilogy for Disney. Benioff and Weiss will write and produce, and the first movie in their trilogy comes to theaters in December 2022. It's not expected to be part of the main Skywalker saga, which concludes this December with "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."
Benioff and Weiss are also expected to adapt the novel "Dirty White Boys" for Disney/Fox, according to Deadline, though it was first reported back in 2014. They also wrote a Kurt Cobain movie for Universal.
Disney was one of the interested companies seeking to nab Benioff and Weiss for an overall deal, according to Deadline. But Netflix came out victorious despite the duo's commitments to the Mouse House and Disney's own streaming aspirations. The company is launching its streaming service Disney Plus on November 12, and announced this week a competitive bundle that includes Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus that will be available the same day for $12.99 a month.
WarnerMedia, which owns HBO, was also interested. Other potential suitors included Comcast, Amazon, and Apple, which is entering the streaming war with Apple TV Plus.
The deal is worth 9 figures, Deadline reported, similar to the mega deals Netflix struck with superstar producers Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes. The Hollywood Reporter pegged the deal as being worth around $200 million.
Benioff and Weiss' Netflix deal could derail their planned HBO drama, "Confederate," which was met with controversy when announced in 2017 because it showcases an alternate reality where US southern states seceded and slavery is still legal. HBO's programming chief Casey Bloys told TV Line in February that the "Confederate" delay wasn't due to the controversy, but Benioff and Weiss' busy schedules.
"Dan and David are finishing up the final season [of Game of Thrones] and then they are going to go into the Star Wars universe," Bloys said. "When they come out of that, I assume they will come back to us."
