Lucasfilm Reportedly Limiting Filmmakers' Creative Control in New Star Wars Projects


The recent exit of David Benioff and D.B. Weiss from their planned Star Wars trilogy is causing a stir among fans who are probably wondering what went wrong. Interestingly, a new report may have revealed that it had a lot to do with how Lucasfilm limits creative control in the upcoming Star Wars projects.

The report from Variety has pointed out how Lucasfilm deals with filmmakers who are tasked with directing its Star Wars projects. It was somehow revealed that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and her team try to prevent any new ideas from being added to the films.

"When Kennedy and her team pitched these filmmakers on joining the Star Wars family, sources say they were promised some measure of creative control," the report reads. "However, multiple insiders said new ideas were commonly shot down as Kennedy and her team were only looking for people to stick to the company line. If disagreements about the direction of the film became too intense it usually led to the person leaving the project rather than an attempt to find common ground."

We're not sure if this is what happened to Benioff and Weiss (officially, they claimed they left because of their busy schedule). However, this somehow rings true with the other directors who were removed from Star Wars movies in the past. For instance, it is believed that Colin Trevorrow wanted to take Episode IX into a new direction before he was replaced by J.J. Abrams.

There could be a good reason why Lucasfilm is being careful about the direction the Star Wars films will take. After all, Kennedy had previously stated that George Lucas has somehow outlined how the Skywalker Saga should end. Nevertheless, the limit on creative control can prove to be too much for some filmmakers.

It is still unclear what will happen to Benioff and Weiss' project. In the meantime, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will premiere on December 20.

Related: Star Wars: John Boyega Says Anakin Skywalker is a Better Jedi Than Rey

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