It’s official: the2022 Star Wars movieis going to be coming from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creative team behind HBO’sGame of Thrones. We recently learned that Disney has mapped out their release plans for the franchise following the release of J.J. Abrams’The Rise of Skywalkerlater this year, which will conclude the sequel trilogy and, more importantly, the Skywalker saga we’ve been following since 1977. The next, new chapter of the franchise is debuting in theaters in 2022 and Benioff and Weiss will indeed be behind it.
We first learned that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had struck a deal withDisneyand Lucasfilm in February 2018. Lucasfilm had also announced prior to the release ofThe Last Jedithat director Rian Johnson was set to work on his very ownStar Warstrilogy set outside the confines of the Skywalker saga. So it wasn’t totally clear what project would take that 2022 slot. But Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed during the MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit where a galaxy far, far away is headed next. Here’s what Iger had to say about it.
“We’re not going to wait until nine is out to start figuring it out, we’re actually hard at work doing that now. We did a deal withDavid Benioff and Dan Weiss, who are famous for ‘Game of Thrones’ and the next movie that we release will be theirs, and we’re not saying anything more about that.”
Initially, it seemed like having the guys who helped to makeGame of Thronesthe smashing success that it is tackle movies in this universe would be a great idea. However, many fans have been vocally displeased with the direction of the show’s final season, with the most recent episodeThe Bellsdrawing particularly negative reviews. With that, there might be some blowback to this confirmation.
Still, from Disney’s perspective, these are guys that know how to craft an epic story playing in someone else’s sandbox. At the present time, it’s unclear what story the duo will be tackling, but it’s been rumored their trilogy will take place duringThe Old Republicera, thousands of years before the movies we’ve already seen. Bob Iger also reiterated that they felt the need to give moviegoers a break following Episode IX.
“When we finish nine, it’s our feeling that it’ll be smart for us to take a bit of a hiatus while we figure out what’s next. The consensus was that three years was the proper amount of time to not only take a breath, but also gear up for the next films. I haven’t seen nine finished yet. but I’m confident based on the pieces I’ve seen and the script I’ve read that it’ll be extremely popular.”
The Rise of Skywalkerhits theaters on December 20. The following threeStar Warsmovies will arrive on June 09, 2025, June 24, 2025, and June 18, 2025. It isn’t yet clear if all three of those will be set in the same trilogy, though that seems highly likely. It also isn’t clear yet who will wind up in the director’s chair for the 2022 movie. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as further details are made available. This news was previously reported byThe Wrap.
