Game of Thrones' David Benioff and D.B. Weiss land next Star Wars movie

Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will write the next Star Wars film.

While the title is not yet known, Disney CEO Bob Iger has now confirmed the follow up to J. J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, due out in December, will have Benioff and Weiss behind it.

“We did a deal with David Benioff and D.B 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,” Iger said at the MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit in New York.

Some news outlets have taken this as confirmation that the pair will be directing the feature too. If they do, it will mark their big screen directorial debut.

Benioff and Weiss, who adapted George R. R. Martin’s famous fantasy novels for the small screen, wrapped on the eighth and final series of Game of Thrones last year, with the six-episode season concluding on Sunday.

The next Star Wars instalment will hit screens in 2022, giving fans a three-year break from the franchise.

“(We thought) it would be smart for us to take a bit of a hiatus while we figure out what’s next,” Iger commented. “Now, we’re not going to wait until (The Rise of Skywalker) is released and start figuring it out, we’re actually hard at work doing that already. The conclusion that we reached was that three years was the proper amount of time to not only take a breather and reset, but to really gear up for the next film’s release.”

Previously, Benioff and Weiss had been reported to be writing and producing a new Star Wars series, though Iger didn’t offer any comment on this.