What’s Going on With All the ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoffs?
Game of Thrones was a big hit and seemed set to spawn a lot of spinoffs, but what is really going on with them?
Throughout the 2010s Game of Thrones was THE fantasy show to watch. At its height, GoT was a massively popular bit of prestige television. However, it was based on a series that had a conclusion in sight. Since studios like money, they wanted to keep the GoT magic alive with a whole host of Game of Thrones spinoffs. The show seemed set to spawn an ever-growing franchise. But a poorly received last couple of seasons killed a lot of fan enthusiasm. Plans were scaled back. Shows were canceled. The future seemed dark. Then, House of the Dragon made it onto screens. It was a make-or-break moment–and it made. Now with HotD’s success, it seems spinoffs are back on the menu.
House of the Dragon – The Real Game of Thrones Spinoff
via HBO
Set two hundred years before Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is the first spinoff to survive and make it to release. The show has proved to be a success and recaptured fans lost in the last few seasons of GoT. While not as good as GoT at its height, it’s still a good show. It’s been renewed for a second season that will likely come out in 2024. It’s fair to say that if this one had failed, the others would not be getting made.
The Sea Snake
Photograph by Ollie Upton via HBO
One of the major characters in House of The Dragon is Corlys Valeryon, known as the Sea Snake. Played by Steve Toussaint he’s a real standout. The Sea Snake is one of the richest men alive and a great sailor and adventurer. A show based on his early life is in the works and titled The Sea Snake. As it would focus on one person’s life, it’s likely a smaller show. However, given that he is a sailor, it could take us to locations never before seen. A prequel to a prequel is a little odd, but not impossible to pull off. It seems to be in the early stages of development.
The Jon Snow Show
via HBO
10,000 Ships
10,000 Ships is a spinoff that would tell the story of Princess Nymeria. This epic tale would be set around 1,000 years before GoT. Fleeing the might of the Freehold of Valeria and its Dragonlords, Nymeria and her people set sail on 10,000 ships. Over several years they sail around the world and battle various foes. Eventually, they end up in Dorne and settle there, joining with the Dornish. It is because of this that Dorne is a much less patriarchal society. It’s basically the Aeneid but with fewer gods and more Dragons. It seems to be in the early stages of development.
The Golden Empire
Here’s one we really know very little about. The Golden Empire is a Game of Thrones spinoff set in Yi-TI. Yi-Ti is GoT’s version of Imperial China. It’s never shown up in the books or shows and has only been mentioned. It’s on the complete opposite side of the map. The Golden Empire going to be an animated show, and that’s about all we know.
The Hedge Knight (Dunk and Egg Adventures)
Set around 90 years before Game of Thrones the Tales of Dunk and Egg are comprised of three novellas. They tell the stories of Sir Duncan the Tall (Dunk) and his squire Egg (Aegon Targaryen). They’re some of the most loved Game of Thrones stories and are much more down-to-earth than the Man series. It appears they’ll be adapted into a show as well. Work has started on it and it appears to be moving forward.
The Other Game of Thrones Spinoffs
Last year Martin confirmed that all the shows we’ve already talked about were moving forward. Most of them have writers attached and some have showrunners. None have been announced as canceled. Given that House of the Dragon was a success, there is a pretty good chance that most of these will make it to the screen. However, nothing in Hollywood is certain. Martin also teased that there were other animated shows in the works, but we don’t know anything more about them.
Not all shows are that lucky. A show known as Flea Bottom which would have focused on life in the slums of King Landings is one such. While the show had initially gotten the go-ahead and was getting worked up, it was scrapped back in 2021. Another failed Game of Thrones spin-off was Bloodmoon. A really far-away prequel it would tell stories about the Age of Heroes, about 8,000 years before Game of Thrones. It got so far as to film a pilot episode. However, the pilot was a mess and the show was scrapped as well. Two have failed and one has come out, only time can tell which will be the next Game of Thrones spinoff that we learn the fate of.
How the Strikes are Affecting Things
Courtesy of WGAWest
This year both the WGA and SAG-AFRTA have gone on strike. This has delayed and halted both filming of current shows and the development of future ones. While there isn’t much info on the current status of most of the spinoffs, it’s clear that this strike will delay or even kill off most of them. G.R.R Martin himself has joined the strike and noted that his overall deal with HBO has been suspended.
The exception to this is House of the Dragon. That show is filmed in England and is cast is either whole or majority members of Equity, the British version of SAG-AFRTA. They are currently not on strike, and legally can’t join the SAG-AFTRA strike. Because capitalism. As such the folks at HBO are keeping filming going over in England. Hot D is one of the few shows moving forward right now, even if maybe it shouldn’t be, but outside of that it seems the other spinoffs are treading water.
Let us know which of these shows you’d like to see, down in the comments!
