Emilia Clarke in HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones.’ Photo: HBO.
Preview:
The ‘Game of Thrones’ movie is reportedly moving forward at Warner Bros.
‘House of Cards’ and ‘Andor’ writer Beau Willimon is at work on a script.
The movie may be impacted by Paramount buying Warners.
Back before ‘Game of Thrones’ wrapped up its small screen run, there was talk that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss wanted to end the story with three movies in cinemas, a prospect that HBO bosses shot down.
But the idea of a ‘GOT’ movie didn’t go away, and in late 2024 chatter began about new development. Things have been quiet since then as Warner Bros. focused instead on prequel series ‘House of the Dragon’ and the recent launch of ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’, though news has now arrived of someone actually developing a film.
What’s the potential story for a ‘Game of Thrones’ movie?
HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones.’ Photo: HBO.
Both Page Six and a recent Hollywood Reporter profile of ‘Thrones’ novelist George R.R. Martin have pointed to a focus on Aegon I, who birthed the dragon-happy Targaryen dynasty and united six of the seven kingdoms through bloody conquest about 300 years before the original series (the iconic Iron Throne is forged from swords captured from those his armies defeated in battle).
It’s certainly fertile territory for ‘Thrones’ to explore, and indeed it appears HBO is also looking at a TV take on the idea.
(Left) The cast of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’. Photo: Lucasfilm. (Right) ‘Invasion’ series creator Simon Kinberg.
Preview:
Simon Kinberg is reportedly developing a ‘Star Wars’ movie trilogy.
He’d write the movies and produce them with Kathleen Kennedy.
This trilogy is apparently about new characters.
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.
A respected name in filmmaking (and particularly in this case, genre producing) has been hired by Lucasfilm to come up with new ‘Star Wars’ movies. Yes, it’s a story we’ve heard multiple times in the past –– more on that below –– with little to show for it so far.
Still, shoving cynicism aside for a moment, we’re certainly intrigued to learn via Deadline that Simon Kinberg is reportedly making a deal with Disney and Lucasfilm to develop, write and produce a new trilogy set in that galaxy far, far away.
And it’s not like Kinberg –– who has worked on a variety of projects in the past, including 20th Century Fox’s ‘X-Men’ movies, the ‘Deadpool’ films and a host of others more as a writer/producer –– doesn’t also already boast ‘Star Wars’ bona fides.
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He co-created animated series ‘Star Wars Rebels’ with Dave Filoni and Carrie Beck, with the show running for four seasons from 2014-2018, and certainly influencing the direction of the current live-action ‘Star Wars’ shows.
And talking of the companies, we must still take all of this with enough salt to sate a Sarlacc, since neither Disney nor Lucasfilm is officially commenting just yet. Deadline mentions that Kinberg’s deal has closed, but these things usually have to wait for more solid confirmation, often at an event such as Star Wars Celebration, a Comic-Con or Disney’s D23.
What would the Simon Kinberg ‘Star Wars’ movies focus on?
1977’s ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.’ Credit: Lucasfilm.
That question is, for now at least, largely a mystery.
While Deadline initially heard that it would continue the “Skywalker Saga” (AKA Episodes I through IX, which kicked off back in 1977 with the original ‘Star Wars’ before spawning the prequel and then sequel trilogies), that has since been shot down like a TIE Fighter by the Falcon, with focus now apparently on a new story with different characters (but with the door open for familiar faces to potentially appear).
A bigger issue is whether this actually comes to fruition. After all, as recently as this May, Kinberg was reported as being involved with driving the ‘Star Trek’ movie franchise for Paramount, who we’re sure aren’t looking to repeat the situation with J.J. Abrams, who oversaw the first two movies of the studio’s rebooted ‘Trek’ movie universe before jumping ship to ‘Star Wars.’
And the future of ‘Star Wars’ on the big screen has seemed a little shaky of late, with famous genre names announced (or rumored) as working on new ‘Wars’ projects, only for nothing to come to screen.
Which brings us to…
Who else has been reported as involved with new ‘Star Wars’ movies?
(L to R) Director James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
The list for this is fairly long, with little to show for it thus far.
Right now, we have current co-overlord of the ‘Star Wars’ TV universe, Jon Favreau, in post-production on a ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ movie, which is scheduled to be on screens in May 2026.
Still in development are projects from Favreau’s main collaborator, Dave Filoni (who, like his colleague, would likely draw from their TV universe), James Mangold (who has been working on a film chronicling the birth of the Jedi order) and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who is aboard to direct a movie featuring Daisy Ridley’s Rey as she continues her own quest.
(L to R) Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Daisy Ridley at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
That latter movie has been having some issues getting its script together, with ‘Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight the latest writer to depart.
Then we have Taika Waititi, who keeps talking about how he wants to move forward with his idea, while Donald Glover continues work on a story about Lando Calrissian, which was being touted as a Disney+ series but currently appears to be a movie.
As for those who have been reported as developing ‘Star Wars’ output that has yet to see much forward movement? They include ‘The Last Jedi’s Rian Johnson (who was apparently going to make a trilogy but is currently busy with his big Netflix deal for the Benoit Blanc mystery movies and crime series ‘Poker Face,’ Patty Jenkins (whose ‘Rogue Squadron’ movie flits between active development and being grounded in a hangar) and ‘Game of Thrones’ duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who likewise were going to produce a new trilogy but are instead adapting beloved sci-fi novel ‘The Three Body Problem.’
What can we actually expect coming up from ‘Star Wars’?
‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ will be premiering on Disney+ in 2023.
Besides Favreau’s ‘Mando’ movie, the next confirmed ‘Star Wars’ releases will be on the small screen, with ‘Skeleton Crew’ a ‘Goonies’–inspired adventure launching on Disney+ on December 3rd, and Season 2 of ‘Andor,’ due next year.
We also know that Filoni is at work on a second season of ‘Ahsoka,’ though that has yet to land a date.
(L to R) Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.’ Photo: Lucasfilm.
Warner Bros. is developing a ‘Game of Thrones’ movie.
So far, it’s only at the discussions stage.
Novelist George R.R. Martin has previously speculated on a film based on his sprawling story.
Running between 2011 and 2019, ‘Game of Thrones’ was massive pop cultural hit, spawning a giant fanbase, a mountain’s worth of merchandising, and, since it ended, no end of debate about what many decried as a disappointing final season.
Yet while HBO and its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has explored prequel stories in the years since it left our screens, the idea of what might have happened next in the world of Westeros has not stopped percolating in fans’ minds.
And indeed, in the brain of the person whose work spurred it all: George R.R. Martin, the novelist behind the ‘Song of Ice and Fire’ books that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss adapted into the show. Martin has previously mentioned that the idea of a movie has been floated.
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It’s also true that Benioff and Weiss were originally planning to end the series with three big screen movies, but HBO decided it would rather stick to premium TV.
Now, though, according to The Hollywood Reporter, there are early discussions at movie studio Warner Bros. about a potential ‘Thrones’ movie.
What would the story of a ‘Game of Thrones’ movie be?
Kit Harington as Jon Snow on HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones.’ Photo: HBO.
Right now, that is a total mystery. There are no writers or directors attached to make the film, nor have any of the cast been approached about returning.
And that’s even assuming the story ends up a continuation of the main ‘Thrones’ plot at all. Our vote would be for a stand-alone adventure for the dragon known as Drogon, who melted the Iron Throne and flew off at the end of the show.
What else is happening in the world of ‘Game of Thrones’?
‘House of the Dragon’ season 2. Photograph Courtesy of HBO.
To this point, the focus has been on prequel tales –– ‘House of the Dragon,’ which chronicles a chaotic civil war that cleaves House Targaryen into two factions, has so far enjoyed a successful two-season run on HBO, with a third in the works.
Another series, ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,’ adapted from Martin’s Dunk & Egg stories, was shot this year and will debut in 2025.
On top of those, there are variety of other spin-off series, many of them similarly based around prequel stories, in different stages of development, though none have quite yet reached the greenlight stage.
And a movie wouldn’t even represent the first time that ‘Game of Thrones’ has been on the big screen, as various season premieres and other episodes were screened in theaters as special promotional events.
When will the ‘Game of Thrones’ movie invade theaters?
Given that this one is at a completely embryonic stage, you’d need to be the Three-Eyed Raven to foretell when it might be on screens for now.
(L to R) Benedict Wong and Liam Cunningham talk ‘3 Body Problem’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Benedict Wong and Liam Cunningham about their work on ‘3 Body Problem’, the book the series is based on, how they approached playing their characters, and shooting the game sequence.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Wong and Cunnigham, as well as Jess Hong, Jovan Adepo, John Bradley, Alex Sharp, Rosalind Chao and Zine Tseng.
Moviefone: To begin with, Benedict, were you familiar with the book the series is based on before you signed on for the project?
Benedict Wong: No, I wasn’t. I met the guys on Zoom whilst I was filming ‘Doctor Strange.’ I was just immediately very suspicious, why did they need three showrunners for this project? Then delving deep into the first novel is so dense, this science and this world of the game world. I was thinking, I don’t even know how this is going to be filmed. It’s such a challenge. I just picked up the gauntlet and ran with them.
MF: Liam, did you read the book before you started shooting?
Liam Cunningham: No, I’m going to wait till I’m done. I generally don’t do it. Even the last project I did with David and Dan (‘Game of Thrones’), I never read those books. I didn’t want two voices in my ear. My blueprint was the scripts and that’s what I was employed to deliver. If I read the books, if I’d had trouble with any of it, I would’ve used that as a reference. But that’s when I think I might be in trouble when I must go somewhere else for information. So, I didn’t want two voices in my ear, the book voice and the script voice. So, I am going to keep that treat until we’re all done on this. Then I’ll sit down on a beach somewhere under a palm tree and I’ll dig deep into the book.
MF: Liam, can you talk about your preparation and approach to playing this role?
LC: We do enormous amounts of preparation. Enormous amounts, but we prepare for the scene. Our showrunners are very good at formulating a character that is not about, he went to school here or anything like that. In fact, I had a couple of small questions, but I don’t think I ever talked about where he comes from.
MF: Benedict, how did you prepare to play your character?
BW: I think the world builds around you and within this center of your universe, you have everyone at your command. The calls that you make are answered and there’s so much power within that, and that builds that level of who this person is. We did get the blessing of Cixin, the author, and he knew that this was going to be inspired from the books because they were telling a global story but then it still had this Asian spine of myself, being from Manchester and Jess (Hong) being from New Zealand, and then the character of Ye Wenjie played by Zine Tseng and Rosalind Chao. But to tell much more of a global story of look, we have someone who’s Irish in command with this duo and its fascinating to watch because it’s almost like, well, how did they get there? And they have every right to get there too.
MF: Finally, Liam, can you talk about shooting the game sequences?
LC: It was very much what the guys are very good about it, but they kept it to a minimum. So, these cinematics as they call them, the room we were in was very high-tech. It wasn’t that volume that they used on ‘The Mandalorian,’ that semicircular LCD wall. It was a very particular lighting setup on an enormous level. They gave us this huge amount of room to wander about in this place. There were minimal sets. What you hang your hat on is what happens. What’s the information that’s given? You’re seeing this AI representation of whatever word the threat is. So, there was a certain amount, and you did have to use an enormous amount of your imagination and paint the pictures in your head, which can be interesting if it’s very important to the storytelling. It was a joy to do. It was quite a challenge, but a real joy.
Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao) is an astrophysicist who saw her father brutally murdered during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Later, she was conscripted by the military because of her scientific background and sent to a secret radar base in a remote region. Her fateful decision at the base echoes across space and time to a group of scientists in the present day, forcing them to face humanity’s greatest threat.
Launching on Netflix with all eight episodes on Thursday March 21st, ‘3 Body Problem’ represents two gigantic challenges all at once: how do the creators of the ‘Game of Thrones’ TV adaptation follow their mammoth fantasy undertaking, and how do they do it using one of the most acclaimed science fiction novel series of recent years?
As it turns out, the answer is: with an abundance of brains and style, putting together a quality cast and fully using the resources offered by Netflix’s deep pockets to bring the novels’ story (or at least the first in the ‘Remembrance of Earth’s Past’ trilogy, which in book form is known as ‘The Three-Body Problem’) to life.
‘3 Body Problem’ is excellent right out of the gate, even more so than ‘Thrones’. It’s audacious, detailed, emotional and sweeping, hooking you with a teasing mystery (at least for those who have not read the books) that slowly and logically unfolds.
A hefty challenge is that a chunk of the narrative revolves around some big physics concepts, but the show smartly explains them in ways that anyone can understand. You won’t feel like you have to have ‘A Brief History of Time’ open on your lap as you watch.
The story weaves its way towards big revelations, but never feels out of reach, grounding its concept in human behavior and satisfying character interactions –– the main group all feel like people you want to spend time with as you take this journey alongside them.
D. B. Weiss and David Benioff know plenty about adapting sprawling stories with big casts, but here, even more than with ‘Thrones’, they smartly choose to follow a (relatively) small group so as to keep viewers engaged.
So while the story trips through two different time periods and focuses on a few different places across the planet (plus an advanced, immersive video game system that becomes key to the plot), you’re never left wondering who is doing what and why.
Working alongside fellow showrunner Alexander Woo (‘True Blood’), they stay mostly faithful to the book while making necessary changes for the new medium. Thanks to certain moments, they do get to indulge in what you might expect given their previous show –– the series kicks off with some serious head trauma and there is some nudity (though not sexual) in a future episode.
And with luck, they’ll avoid the pitfalls of ‘Thrones’ controversial final season, as the ‘Remembrance’ novel trilogy has an actual ending (no disrespect to George R.R. Martin there).
The show employs ‘Thrones’ veteran director Jeremy Podeswa plus Minkie Spiro, Derek Tsang and Pixar leading light Andrew Stanton, who has been building his live-action directing career steadily with the likes of ‘Legion’ and ‘For All Mankind’, and they all contribute some fantastic visuals as well as subtle and entertaining character work.
There are moments in this series that will have your jaw drop, though we won’t spoil anything here –– trust us, though, you’ll be sorely tempted to watch all the episodes as soon as possible.
Having clearly been happy with a lot of their cast on ‘Game of Thrones’, a few of key actors carry over here.
John Bradley plays Jack Rooney, a man who has hit it rich with his snack business but is still close to his college friends. Rooney offers Bradley the opportunity to play a polar opposite of ‘Thrones’ Samwell Tarley, a cocky but still loveable sort who is one of the first start playing the mysterious game that will be a core element of the early chunk of the story.
Liam Cunningham, meanwhile, feels more like his ‘Games’ character of Davos Seaworth, sharing the cunning brain and salty tongue of the Westeros resident, but as Thomas Wade, a man with a definite mission to protect humanity (no matter the cost), he’s authoritative and darkly funny –– suffering zero fools.
‘Thrones’ High Sparrow, Jonathan Pryce, meanwhile, plays a character who… Well, that would be telling.
On Wade’s team is Benedict Wong’s Da Shi, and this is honestly the best role the actor has enjoyed for years. He knocks it out of the park as the world-weary but funny not-quite-cop who is investigating what is happening to scientists in the UK. While we’re big fans of Wong’s role as, well, Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he has more to do in one scene here than most of the movies he’s shown up in.
The core of the characters is the scientist group who are friends with Rooney, who all feel like actual buddies instead of actors swapping dialogue. And they’re all very different personalities, brought to life by the likes of Eiza González, Alex Sharp, Jess Hong and Jovan Adepo.
‘3 Body Problem’ is a show blessed with a near note-perfect cast: everyone is worth watching here.
Our advice for this one is: if you’ve yet to read the books, stay away from them and avoid Wikipedia! It’s absolutely recommended to go into this one knowing as little as possible, so the surprises hit harder, and the characters feel fresh.
Book readers are likely to be happy with the adaptation, which certainly doesn’t embarrass itself when put up against the literary source. But having seen the whole series, we’re confident in saying that this is a superior, satisfying piece of science fiction TV we can easily see ending up on Best of 2024 TV lists.
‘3 Body Problem’s story begins in 1960s China when a young woman makes a fateful decision that reverberates across space and time into the present day. When the laws of nature inexplicably unravel, a tight-knit group of brilliant scientists must join forces with an unflinching detective to stop humanity’s greatest threat.
Who is in ‘3 Body Problem’?
The ‘3 Body Problem’ cast includes Jovan Adepo, John Bradley, Rosalind Chao, Liam Cunningham, Eiza González, Jess Hong, Marlo Kelly, Alex Sharp, Sea Shimooka, Zine Tseng, Saamer Usmani, Benedict Wong and Jonathan Pryce.
1977’s ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.’ Credit: Lucasfilm.
Cast your mind back a long time ago, to a galaxy far, far, awa…. Well, actually just a couple of days ago. That was when we brought two ‘Star Wars’ updates: one, that ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert were explaining their decision to direct an episode of incoming Disney+ series ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ and two, that Damon Lindelof (along with co-writer Justin Britt-Gibson) was no longer attached to the untitled, under wraps new ‘Star Wars’ movie that Lucasfilm has in development.
We mentioned at the time that Above The Line, which broke the story, hadn’t heard who might replace the pair on the script, but Variety scooped the news that ‘Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight, who has also worked extensively on the movie front, including writing ‘Eastern Promises’, ‘Locke’ and the Oscar-nominated ‘Spencer’, will be taking over.
Steven Knight at the 2018 British Academy Television Awards. Photo: BBC YouTube channel and the British Academy Television Awards.
What is this new ‘Star Wars’ movie about?
As of right now, Lucasfilm has been able to keep the details of this film behind rigorous blast shields, meaning we don’t know the plot of this one at all yet, or indeed when it’s set in the ‘Star Wars’ timeline.
There’s some (New) hope that it might represent a move away from the established characters, i.e. zero mentions of the Skywalker family or their associated heroes and villains.
And given that it was started by Lindelof and Britt-Gibson and will be continued (or re-drafted) by Knight, it certainly sounds like there’s an interesting angle to be found.
Who else is involved in this new ‘Star Wars’ movie?
Despite the change in writers, director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a documentarian who has also worked on animated movies and shot episodes of ‘Ms. Marvel’ for Disney+, is still on board to call the shots. But again, she’s said nothing about what the movie might be, nor has Lucasfilm officially confirmed any of this.
We’re expecting news about this (assuming it’s at a point where the company feels confident in announcing it) at Star Wars Celebration, which will run between April 7-10th in London.
‘The Mandalorian’ season 3 starring Pedro Pascal premieres March 1st on Disney+.
What else is going on with ‘Star Wars’
Outside of the ever-expanding TV shows (‘The Mandalorian’ is back on our screens now and we can expect ‘Skeleton Crew’ and ‘Ahsoka’ for definite this year, plus the return of animated series ‘Star Wars Visions’ and the launch of fellow animation ‘Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures’), the forward momentum of the franchise has been lacking.
On cinema screens, we haven’t seen a movie since ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ in 2019 as Disney and Lucasfilm pumped the brakes on their schedule.
In a new article about Benioff and Weiss’s huge new deal with Netflix, The Hollywood Reporter cites sources who indicate the duo may actually only pen one Star Wars film. Disney previously announced they’d write a movie series. The insiders claim that Benioff and Weiss will write one but not necessarily all of the films. (Moviefone has reached out to Disney for comment and will update when we hear back.)
Disney was reportedly one of the studios that was interested in reaching an overall deal with Benioff and Weiss. In the end, though, Netflix got them to sign a five-year, $250 million deal, per THR. Whether or not that affected the existing agreement with the Mouse House remains unclear.
In May, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the next Star Wars movie after 2019’s “Rise of Skywalker” would come from the duo but didn’t discuss future projects.
“The next movie that we release will be theirs,” he said of Benioff and Weiss. “And we’re not saying anything more about that.”
“I think that the fun and challenging part of it is to dive in, figure out what’s exciting and then figure out what it’s going to be,” Johnson said.
He’s busy thinking about what is “the essence of Star Wars … and what that will look like moving forward.”
Whoever ends up penning the various scripts, Disney doesn’t seem to be slowing down. The studio has three Star Wars movies on the calendar, and one will open in December every other year, starting in 2022.
It’s official: Netflix has locked down “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
After checking out their options, the duo have officially reached an exclusive multi-year deal with Netflix. And it’s a big one. Benioff and Weiss signed a nine-figure deal, according to Deadline‘s sources. Neither party has confirmed the numbers.
Initially, there were several studios vying to make an overall deal with the “Game of Thrones” creators. There were reportedly six in contention at one point, but that number later dropped to three — Amazon, Disney, and Netflix — before the latter won out. Needless to say, the streamer is pretty pleased with how things turned out.
“We are thrilled to welcome master storytellers David Benioff and Dan Weiss to Netflix,” said Ted Sarandos, the company’s chief content officer, in a statement. “They are a creative force and have delighted audiences worldwide with their epic storytelling. We can’t wait to see what their imaginations will bring to our members.”
Meanwhile, Benioff and Weiss commented as well, first celebrating the “beautiful run” they had with HBO. They then went on to say, “Netflix has built something astounding and unprecedented, and we’re honored they invited us to join them.” With Netflix, they’ll make both films and TV series.
Before entering the deal, Benioff and Weiss already had some big projects in the pipeline. Among them is the new Star Wars movie they’re developing for Disney, which is due out in 2022.
And both Amazon and Netflix would like to tap into the minds behind the pop culture juggernaut that was “Game of Thrones. Both have big and expensive properties in the works — Amazon has “Lord of the Rings” and Netflix has “Chronicles of Narnia” and “Sandman.” Amazon even recently signed a deal with Bryan Cogman, their co-executive producer and writer on “Game of Thrones.”
“I think wherever they end up, they’ll be lucky to have them,” HBO programming chief Casey Bloy said recently. “They’re some of the best showrunners I’ve ever worked with, and in this talent marketplace, I think everybody should go and get whatever they can.”
A handful of key players have backed out of the event. HBO has updated its list of panelists, and noticeably absent are showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, actors Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) and Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), and director Miguel Sapochnik, as Variety reports. HBO chalked the changes up to production and schedule conflicts.
This will be a last hurrah of sorts. The eighth and final season of “Game of Thrones” concluded in May, so the event is bound to be bittersweet. The panel is set for Friday, July 19 at 5:30 p.m. in SDCC’s Hall H.
