Star Wars: New Report Claims Movie Franchise Plans Still Uncertain After Rise of Skywalker

It was always going to be a busy fall for Star Wars fans, but they probably weren't expecting this week to be such a whirlwind. Earlier this week, Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff left their projects with the franchise citing schedule conflicts as the reason for their departure. This new development has left a lot of Star Wars fans wondering what's next for the franchise. It turns out, they're not alone as the company now faces a level of uncertainty that hasn't been felt since Disney acquired Lucasfilm back at the start of this decade. Variety posted a report about all the fallout from the Weiss and Benioff situation and the quotes tell a story of how much this development must have blindsided decision-makers at both companies.

Variety said, "The departure of the two [David Benioff, D.B. Weiss] likely sends the studio back to the drawing board with the future of the series more uncertain than it has been since Disney closed its $4 billion deal for Lucasfilm in 2012."

Now, that's pretty discouraging, but it could also present a grand opportunity to restructure in light of all this upheaval. Remember Colin Trevorrow and Josh Trank left their Star Wars projects before they even got off the ground. So, there is precedence for the Game of Thrones showrunners stepping away so abruptly. Still, the optics of the entire situation feel less than stellar. In fact, it's been a pretty terrible couple of weeks for Benioff and Weiss as some comments they made about the ending to their show caused some significant controversy on social media.

Of course, when something like this occurs so suddenly, leaked information is going to come around quickly. This case is no different as reports surfaced that the Game of Thrones veterans would have had their movies around the origins of the Jedi. Fans had been hoping that the project would take on some elements of the Knights of the Old Republic. But, unfortunately for the A Song of Ice and Fire loving section of the fandom, it looks like the company might cool its heels on that idea.

Variety's recent reporting offers some other insight into what happened with Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The magazine says their budgets on the pre-Jedi Storyline and Netflix commitments led to some problems with Lucasfilm.

The report read, "The Star Wars period the pair was interested in exploring was how the Jedi came to exist," the report states. "However, Lucasfilm executives and the creators begin to see their visions for the films diverge during meetings last summer. News that the pair had signed a massive $250 million production deal with Netflix was a signal to many that they were eager to explore other opportunities."

So, things are going to have to be cleared up and in a hurry. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may present an end to this current story. But, the next chapter is around the corner and a comprehensive roadmap will go a long way in ensuring the best product available makes it out to the fans.

The next Star Wars movie set to release in theaters is Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, premiering on December 20th.