In the aftermath of the now-canceled David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Star Wars trilogy, everyone can’t help but wonder both about what happened, and what the films were going to focus on. A new report might have gotten to the bottom of the story, although as is always the case with these sort of things, there’s a chance some details aren’t 100% accurate. From the sound of things, the Game of Thrones duo clashed with Lucasfilm. But had they gotten to make their trilogy, the plan was to focus on the origins of the Jedi.

Variety has the scoop on the canceled Benioff and Weiss Star Wars trilogy. According to their story, the Benioff and Weiss films would “exist apart from the Skywalker family saga,” and focus on “exploring was how the Jedi came to exist.” At first everyone seemed on board with this concept. But Lucasfilm execs and Benioff and Weiss reportedly began to have different visions regarding the prospective trilogy.

Things grew even more tricky when Benioff and Weiss landed a huge $250 million production deal with Netflix. Some felt this was a sign that Benioff and Weiss were interested in moving beyond Star Wars to other projects. And while Netflix stated publicly they were well aware that the duo had commitments to Disney and Lucasfilm, behind-the-scenes they wanted exclusivity regarding Benioff and Weiss’ output.

While the Variety story makes it sound like it was Netflix who was unhappy having to wait, THR has their own take on the story, which says it was Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy who had an issue. Per THR, “is said to have been unhappy with the Netflix deal the duo signed,” and wasn’t convinced that Benioff and Weiss could “could truly juggle a sci-fi trilogy while also overseeing film and TV projects at Netflix.” THR also says that Benioff and Weiss were hesitant to jump into the Star Wars universe due to the perceived toxic fandom that has cropped up surrounding the series. Ultimately, the THR story heavily indicates it was Benioff and Weiss who really wanted out of this whole scenario.

In any case, once the relationship with Benioff and Weiss began to sour, Lucasfilm began taking meetings with other writers about potential Star Wars ideas. But Variety adds that “it’s unclear if these were just sit-downs exploring other related productions in the franchise’s cinematic and streaming universe.”

Much has been made at this point about the behind-the-scenes woes with Star Wars creatives. Benioff and Weiss are just the latest duo to leave Star Wars behind, joining a list that includes Josh Trank, Colin Trevorrow, and Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Whenever one of these stories pops up, all eyes fall on Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, who is the one calling the shots for the franchise as a whole. Some might be quick to assume Kennedy is hard to work with and not easy to please regarding the creative process, but if that’s the case, it’s not affecting her position anytime soon. The Variety piece firmly states that Kennedy’s job is “secure despite the churn of filmmaking talent,” and that rumors that Marvel’s Kevin Feige could be stepping in to take over the brand are inaccurate.

In the meantime, the future of Star Wars movies remains in question. Rian Johnson’s new trilogy is supposedly still happening, but we don’t know when. And while Kevin Feige may not be taking over the franchise, he is working on a film of his own. But beyond that, the Star Wars movies are in a state of flux at the moment, culminating with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in December. Meanwhile, Disney has Star Wars streaming content to keep the series going. The Mandalorian will debut next month with the Disney+ streaming service, and an Obi-Wan Kenobi series with Ewan McGregor is in the works as well.

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