Game of Thrones creators' Star Wars exit was reportedly due to Disney-Netflix tensions and "toxic fandom"

The Hollywood Reporter

When David Benioff and D.B. Weiss signed their Netflix mega-deal in August, they agreed that both Star Wars and their Netflix projects "were in a shared first position, meaning the duo could work on both simultaneously," reports The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit and Lesley Goldberg, who add: "Before signing the deal, Netflix was briefed on the Star Wars plans and wasn't worried about having to wait for them to finish a potential trilogy — earmarked for 2022, 2024 and 2026." But the Netflix deal required them to be on set of all their Netflix projects. Star Wars boss Kathleen Kennedy, meanwhile, was nervous about their split attention. Another reason why Benioff and Weiss exited was likely due to their experience with Game of Thrones' fandom. "The creators had built Thrones from the ground up — based on author George R.R. Martin's sprawling novels — and were initially lauded by both critics and fans, who made the show HBO's most watched original series ever," according to The Hollywood Reporter. "But the divisive six-episode final season that aired in the spring was met with such backlash that the duo backed out of a farewell panel at San Diego Comic-Con in the summer. To go from Thrones to Star Wars, where fans have bullied actors off social media and taken aim at filmmakers like (Rian) Johnson?" As one source put it, "Who wants to go through that again? Not them. This was in the 'Life’s Too Short' category." ALSO: Benioff and Weiss went from "untouchable in terms of their pop-culture currency" to much-derided in wake of the Game of Thrones final season backlash.