Game of Thrones is now in the books. Its eighth and final season wrapped up this past Sunday. It didn’t do so without controversy, however. Many viewed the final season of the absurdly popular HBO series as its worst. Some even began a petition to remake the season. For that reason, and others, there are plenty of similarities between GoT Season 8 and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. When it all boils down, the blames lands squarely on the producers/writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. So how does this all affect the next Star Wars trilogy?

New Star Wars Movies
Dave Benioff and D.B. Weiss. (Image: Art Streiber for Variety)

The short answer is that it doesn’t, particularly. One of the biggest complaints about Game of Thrones Season 8 was that Benioff and Weiss had trouble writing the show once George R.R. Martin’s source material ran out. Rightfully or wrongfully, I can understand this criticism. Fans of the books and show alike had become accustomed to characters and their behaviors. Deviation causes consternation. However, they don’t have that issue with Star Wars. That’s why I have no qualms about the duo helming the next Star Wars trilogy. Well, that, and a couple other reasons.

Forging the Next Star Wars Trilogy

Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to.”

Kylo Ren, in The Last Jedi
Game of Thrones; Next Star Wars Trilogy
Image: HBO

Kylo Ren said those words to Rey, and now I’m saying them to Benioff and Weiss. Game of Thrones is over. Take a lesson from Drogon – burn it down and move on. By doing so Benioff and Weiss can now move forward free of the shackles of expectation. Their Star Wars story will be new. No old characters that we know of, no constraints. Granted, the rumored subject for the next Star Wars trilogy is the Old Republic. Notwithstanding, they could make a dozen films about The Old Republic without ever touching on beloved characters like Darth Revan. (To the contrary, though, many fans want to see Darth Revan on film. Of course, if the moment arrives when Revan is announced as a character, I’m sure Benioff and Weiss haters will start petitions to boycott….)

The Old Republic; New Star Wars movies; Next Star Wars Trilogy

Interestingly, Inverse notes the two are now producing the next Star Wars trilogy from a position of “having something to prove.” I’m not sure I agree. Fans can complain about GoT Season 8 all they want. But, in doing so, they tend to forget the fact that the pair wrote and produced the prior seven seasons, too. Sure, they had some source material, but the production and presentation of it was their own. And it wasn’t just the biggest thing on HBO. It was the biggest thing on television. Ever.

They’ve already proven what they can do.  Now it’s just a matter of demonstrating it with the next Star Wars trilogy.

The first Benioff and Weiss Star Wars film will premier December 16, 2022.

Source: Inverse