The producers of Game of Thrones have announced that they will not be moving forward with plans to make the next Star Wars trilogy.

In February last year, Disney Lucasfilm announced that David Benioff and DB Weiss would write and produce the new saga.

The new films were expected to sit completely separately from the original franchise, which is due to come to an end in December this year.

However, in the months after Game of Thrones fizzled out on HBO, the pair signed a blockbuster deal with Netflix – believed to be worth around $200m (€180m).

In a statement to Deadline, the pair said the new deal meant they could no longer journey into the Star Wars universe.

“There are only so many hours in the day, and we felt we could not do justice to both Star Wars and our Netflix projects,” they said.

“So we are regretfully stepping away.

“We love Star Wars. When George Lucas built it, he built us too. Getting to talk about Star Wars with him and the current Star Wars team was the thrill of a lifetime and we will always be indebted to the saga that changed everything.”

There is still plenty to come for Star Wars fans - with the final instalment of the current series, The Rise of Skywalker due for release in December.

Meanwhile, the new Disney+ series The Mandalorian will debut next month.

In a statement, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy refused to close the door on Benioff and Weiss returning to the Star Wars fold at some point in the future.

“David Benioff and Dan Weiss are incredible storytellers,” she said.

“We hope to include them in the journey forward when they are able to step away from their busy schedule to focus on Star Wars.”