First Star Wars, and now HBO – David Benioff and D.B. Weiss continue to have their projects canceled on them after their disastrous finale to Game of Thrones, the global phenomenon that let everyone down due to their lack of care or consideration for the series. And let’s be real, everything that was good about Game of Thrones came from George R.R. Martin and the stellar cast performances.
HBO, the platform that Game of Thrones ran its course on, apparently had a deal with Benioff and Weiss to take on another project, Confederate, about an alternate reality where the Civil War had been won by the South and thus, “slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution.” Holy sh*t, could you imagine these two taking on such a sensitive and delicate topic like slavery? Oh man, this would have been a complete disaster.
Many feel very strongly that racism in America has never gone away, and they would be right, but perhaps even more so, unfortunately, it has been shown to still exist very strongly in some parts of the country, especially in recent years (about four or so). And obviously, when the show was pitched a few years ago, it became an instant controversy with many referring to it as “slavery fan fiction” and “slavery fantasy”, something that would have surely blown up in HBO’s face. And considering that the two writers who ruined Game of Thrones were behind, well, you get the picture.
Despite the fact that this is something that probably shouldn’t ever be made, especially by two white male writers with very little writing credits to their name (unless you count X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Gemini Man as “writing credits”), even on a network like HBO, Casey Bloys, the president of HBO, initially had felt differently.
“If you can get it right, there’s a real opportunity to advance the racial discussion in America.”
– Casey Bloys, HBO President
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“Although, we feel strongly that these two hacks are probably not the ones you want advancing that discussion.”
-The Geek Outpost Staff
Speaking to TVLine, Casey Bloys has confirmed that this controversial project from two white males, is indeed dead. This comes not too long after Disney and Lucasfilm have confirmed they have since parted ways with Weiss and Benioff for their proposed Star Wars trilogy, something that no fans wanted after these two destroyed Game of Thrones. Disney, aware of the backlash of this and the displeasure many shared with the Abrams/Johnson/Abrams sequel trilogy as well as the flop that was Solo, knew they could not allow D&D to make matters worse for them and Star Wars fans alike. It is very probable that this was the catalyst for HBO’s decision to sever ties with them and Confederate.
Benioff and Weiss still have a multi-million dollar deal going on with Netflix, though nothing has been shown from that yet. Allegedly these two will be creating exclusive content for them, and with the ink on that deal having just dried, we may not know just what, who, or how many disappointments are to be involved.
Personally, I can’t say I am surprised. HBO and Disney/Lucasfilm all made the right choices. I can never forgive those two blockheads for what they did to George R.R. Martin and Game of Thrones in its entirety. Not just as a fan, but as someone who appreciates literature and the world that Martin set up. The ending was disappointing, but it was truly disrespectful and selfish and I really would like to see as little from them as possible. Hopefully, Netflix makes some adjustments to their deal and cuts these two loose sooner rather than later. Only disappointment and failure will come of their partnership…
