Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will direct a Star Wars film due to hit cinemas in 2022, Disney has announced.
The news has been met with excitement from fans of both of the hit series - but it won’t be the first time the two mega-franchises have collided.
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Actors
Several actors straddle the Star Wars universe and Westeros. Gwendoline Christie plays a warrior in both: the noble Brienne of Tarth in GoT and the evil Captain Phasma in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. And Emilia Clarke has gone from Daenerys “Breaker of Chains” Targaryen in the HBO series to portraying the enslaved Qi’ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Other actors who have appeared in both franchises include Julian Glover, Max von Sydow, Jessica Henwick and Ian McElhinney.
Directors
As Benioff and Weiss head to a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars creator George Lucas has been sneaking onto their Westeros set. A behind-the-scenes video from HBO showed Lucas sitting with director David Nutter as he oversaw the season eight premiere. Benioff explained: “The first time I can remember telling stories was me as a kid meshing together these little stormtrooper dolls. He’s the one who started our obsession with this kind of epic storytelling.”
Imagery
A scene from episode five of the the latest GoT series has drawn comparisons to Star Wars. The warring Clegane brothers finally came face to blistered face on the collapsing stairs of the Red Keep, in a stand-off that The Daily Telegraph suggests offers a preview of how Benioff and Weiss will handle their upcoming space battle scenes. “Lightsabers – sorry, blood-soaked broadswords – clanged and hummed as the Hound and the Mountain clashed,” says the newspaper. Many fans also pointed out that the Mountain looked like a Sith when his armour came off.
Plots
One is set in space and the other on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, but the two franchises have a number of similar plot strands, from Darth Vader’s “I am you father” and Ned Stark’s “I am not your father” storylines to forces of ice and fire, dark and light. Indeed, there is a whole Reddit sub devoted to memes drawing further parallels, including Luke Skywalker and Jaime Lannister’s missing hands and dubious love for their sisters, and Kylo Ren and Tyrion Lannister’s facial scars.
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