Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss sign massive exclusivity deal with Netflix
No, they won't be bringing slavery drama Confederate to the streaming service
David Benioff and DB Weiss are coming…to Netflix. The two showrunners for HBO's Game of Thrones have signed an exclusive multi-year deal with the streaming service to produce a series of new TV shows and films.
“We are thrilled to welcome master storytellers David Benioff and Dan Weiss to Netflix. 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,” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos in a statement (via Variety).
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Benioff and Weiss said: “Netflix has built something astounding and unprecedented, and we’re honoured they invited us to join them.”
Netflix managed to beat off competition from six studios – including Disney, Amazon and Apple – to sign the two writers, with Deadline reporting the deal to be “in the 9-figure range”.
But what could their first project for Netflix be? Well, we can tell you what they won’t be working on: Confederate. This series would have explored an alternative history where the American Civil War ended in a stalemate, leaving a modern-day Confederate nation where slavery remains legal.
Although the controversial show – described by some as “slavery fan fiction” – was in development at HBO, the new Netflix deal means Benioff and Weiss will no longer be developing the project.
However, while this deal means Benioff and Weiss won’t be developing shows outside the streaming service in future, the duo will finish creating, writing and producing current non-Netflix works, including one of the upcoming Star Wars trilogies. They are also working on a screenplay telling the story of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, and prison break story Dirty White Boys.
But in terms of HBO projects at least, it looks like Benioff and DB Weiss’ watch has now ended.
