Disney have announced that the creators of Game of Thrones will be writing and producing a new series of Star Wars movies.

At this point, we have no release dates or plot details – all we know is that the series from David Benioff and DB Weiss will be separate from both the core Skywalker saga and the recently announced trilogy being developed by Last Jedi director Rian Johnson.

“In the summer of 1977 we travelled to a galaxy far, far away, and we’ve been dreaming of it ever since,” the pair said.

“We are honoured by the opportunity, a little terrified by the responsibility, and so excited to get started as soon as the final season of Game of Thrones is complete.”

The final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones is due to be broadcast in 2019.

Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, called Benioff and Weiss two of the best storytellers around.

Their command of complex characters, depth of story and richness of mythology will break new ground and boldly push Star Wars in ways I find incredibly exciting.”

But as many have pointed out, Game of Thrones includes notably more adult themes than the family-friendly Star Wars films.

Last year, it was announced that Benioff and Weiss were also working on a TV series called Confederate, which will tell the story of the lead-up to the Third American Civil War, in an alternative timeline in which the southern states of America have seceded and slavery remains legal.

Disney rose 1 per cent following the announcement they were joining Star Wars.

Next Star Wars film only one month away

This week, we saw the first trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story which will be released in May 2018. That will tell the origin story of Han Solo, made famous by Harrison Ford in the original trilogy.

Then, in December 2019, the concluding film in the new Star Wars trilogy will be released.

Meanwhile, a new trilogy is already in the works, with the announcement in November that Rian Johnson would be writing and directing the first film in that series.