2011’s Game of Thrones earned mammoth recognition, becoming HBO’s most-watched show ever. Spanning over eight seasons, the show vaulted the showrunners David Benioff, Dan Weiss and Alexander Woo to worldwide fame. Based on the novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire, the drama also boosted the trajectory of the book’s sales, with millions of copies sold after the show’s release. However, 2019 marked the show’s end with its eighth season.
Now, the creators were actively seeking new projects before stumbling upon Netflix’s 3 Body Problem. Among them, a Star Wars project also entered the chats but never materialized. And Dan Weiss has somebody to blame for that.
Star Wars film that irked Game of Thrones creators
In a recent interview, the three show geniuses sat in to reflect on their first show, Game of Thrones, success and how the future seemed bright from here on, until they got to the groundwork. After the Emilia Clarke-starrer smashed world records in TV history, Wiess, Benioff, and Woo were determined to start working on their next big hit. However, many of the ideas brought up were eventually trashed.
A Star Wars sequel, namely, The First Jedi, was expected to start work under the supervision of the GOT trio. But George Lucas’s Lucasfilm rejected all Star Wars projects during that time, by them, and even others like Kevin Feige, Patty Jenkins, and Damon Lindelof. Benioff said to The Hollywood Reporter,
“We wanted to do The First Jedi. Basically how the Jedi Order came to be, why it came to be, the first lightsaber …”
Simultaneously, Weiss chimed in saying,
“And we were annoyed as hell when [Rian Johnson, the duo’s longtime friend and 3BP producer] called his movie The Last Jedi. He completely destroyed the obvious title for what we were working on.”
Benioff revealed that Lucasfilm was not looking for a First Jedi sequel, and decided to shelve it. But, Rian Johnson’s movie title, The Last Jedi had them annoyed, leaving no hope for their movie. Regardless, fans were thrilled at the news of the showrunners bringing their creativity to the space-themed franchise. Sadly, it seems far-fetched for now.
Game of Thrones creators’ next potential TV hit
Finally, Weiss, Benioff, and Woo tripped over a project that shall mark another successful phase of their careers. Based on the sci-fi book by Liu Cixin, the showrunners sorted things out with the author to ideate 3 Body Problem. They were keen on leaving behind Westeros, making room for exploration. However, they had devised major plot changes that could urge the author to throw a fit.
Somehow, they convinced Cixin, with a major aspect of him being a die-hard fan of Game of Thrones. Woo recalled,
“The first thing he said was what a big fan of Thrones he was.”
Also Read: Game of Thrones Actor John Bradley Shines in 3 Body Problem Netflix Teaser
3BP was funded by the Chinese production company, Yoozoo. However, in mid-production, the founder Lin Qi was murdered by one of his employees in 2020. This came as a shocker to the entire 3BP team. However, one failed Star Wars movie and a murder later, the Game of Thrones creators finally found their calling with 3 Body Problem set to release in March 2024.
