In a move that not even Varys or Littlefinger could have predicted, Deadline is reporting that the Game of Thrones prequel, which was to be headlined by Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts, is dead in the water. While as many as five spinoffs were once said to be in development, the one that had gained the most traction was the one set during the Age of Heroes. A pilot had been filmed, and we’ve been tracking its progress rather diligently, with updates slowly trickling in. While a filmed pilot is by no means a guarantee that a show will go to series, we were all pretty sure that with the eyes of the world on GOT, the hunger for more (by both the fans and the HBO execs) would only grow larger. And yet….
Right now, reports suggest that showrunner Jane Goldman has been emailing the cast and crew to let them know the devastating news, but it should be noted that it has not yet been confirmed by HBO. We can only speculate at the time being what led to this show’s alleged cancellation. It could be behind the scenes drama, or it could be set or even cost concerns (though unlikely). Reportedly, HBO hadn’t been thrilled with the cut they saw and had requested edits…but even with that, I would still have not expected an outright cancellation of the project!
As recently as mid-September, A Song of Ice and Fire creator George R. R. Martin indicated in a blog post that he would soon see the rough cut of the pilot, and that his earlier behind-the-scenes look had been “spectacular.” He also noted at that time that we were getting closer to the Targaryen-centered spinoff. So, could the rumor mill take us towards an assumption that HBO might be turning tide and putting their eggs in the Targaryen basket? I honestly don’t know, but it seems unlikely to me, given that the Targaryen show has not even been given so much as a pilot order, so they’d be literally comparing a completed episode of television vs. unfilmed text. I know only that as soon as I saw this news and flocked here to start writing this article, my jaw has been agape and still is, even while writing these final sentences. I was immensely excited for this project, and am currently devastated, and rather unsure of what to think. We’ll update this once we get a confirmation from HBO regarding its cancellation.
I worried this was going to happen the moment George started talking about this other series he was working on. OF COURSE HBO is going to pick up something he’s directly putting effort into. They want his prestige attached for as long as they can have it. So I fear this show was the sacrifice in order to keep GRRM more directly involved in a GOT-realm show.
Am I MORE excited for a Dance show? Sure. But I wanted this too.
oh no, say it isn’t so….
I’m shocked. Look, I’ve said plenty of times that the premise of this pilot did not get me excited at all, but I loved the writer, the director, and all of the cast, so I was looking forward to it in a way.
The other idea does sound more promising, but we know a lot less about it, and I have no familiarity with the writer unlike this one. In any case, I think the earliest we can now expect a Game of Thrones spin-off to actually air is around two years time now unless it goes straight-to-series.
I’d love to know what was wrong with the pilot, because I was expecting a series order to be a dead-cert. It does show how difficult this business is though. I think the pilot must have been a bit of a disaster, because the pressure to green-light a spin-off from AT&T must be huge.
Commiserations to all the cast and crew though. Sometimes great ideas don’t fully land, and I’m sure they’ll all be involved in some great successes in the future. As I’ve said it was the cast and crew that had me interest in this project.
I don’t seem to grasp the marketing strategy of HBO thus far. GOT just got ended this year and if they plan on keeping our attention back, shouldn’t we expect a new series for 2020-2021?
Yeah international distributors won’t buy it, with that they can’t make money. WOW GRRM must be really pissed.
Welp, I’m still holding out hope about the “not yet been confirmed by HBO”. I’m a huge fan of Jane Goldman’s work and was really looking forward to this.
I wanted both shows! But yeah the HBO execs probably are getting more excited about Condal’s show because it will feel familiar for the casuals with dragon battles and more known locations and families. This feels like a fear based decision. They want to hold onto those huge audiences and even I thought a moodier show set in the far distant past might struggle to hold onto casual audiences that made the mother show such a massive hit.
Sunfyre,
I really hope you’re wrong about this, but would not be surprised. I love the character stuff and couldn’t care less about huge battles.
The GoT pilot had it’s troubles and delays too, but I think that was mainly due to D&D’s inexperience. At least GoT had original source material to work with to get things moving.
I think the issue with the prequel is that there really isn’t any source material to lead the way, so you’ve got a bunch of suits and executives making all the decisions with completely different motivations in mind on where to take things. Too many cooks in the kitchen, if you will. That’s my interpretation of it. I could be completely wrong.
Disappointed to say the least, but in some way I’m not overly surprised. There was always a part of me that questioned how rich and authentic a story in GRRMs world would be, without more of a direct input from the man himself .
That’s what I was going to write, verbatim!
Oh damn. It’s got Naomi F*cking Watts!!!
How could they NOT greenlight it? I’d hate to think that there are a handful of oblivious suits at HBO making this decision.
And in the event Bloodmoon is in fact dead in the water….
(to be cont.)
LatrineDiggerBrian,
IMO, it’s clear that there will be an effort by HBO to try to appeal to everyone in order to get casual fans and non-fans to watch to increase ratings. Unfortunately, when you try to make everyone happy, you tend to make no one happy and you end up with a watered down product.
They may simply be betting that a story about the Targs will have a bigger following (and sell more knick-knack) than a story about Bran the Builder and the other Starks.
And in the event the Bloodmoon prequel is in fact dead in the water…
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/494/628/0df.jpg
…. bring on the Arya spin-off!
🗡👸🏻⛵️
Ten Bears,
My first thought after I heard about this news was you, TB. I know how much you love Naomi Watts, so I figured this would be a tough pill to swallow. Sorry for your loss 🙁
However, What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger.
Mr Derp,
Yeah. It was the uniqueness and risk taking of the original GoT that drew everyone in. Now audiences whine about everything and corporate suits are obsessed with bottom line and q rating. Let’s face it, we caught lightning in a bottle with the first 5 or so seasons of GoT and will probably never see anything like it again.
LatrineDiggerBrian,
That, and the fact that history pretty much proves that prequels rarely ever work out.
Are there any examples of good prequels other than “Better Call Saul”? There’s probably a few, but it’s gotta be a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the plethora of awful and unnecessary prequels/sequels/reboots/remakes that are out there.
It’s a soulless cash grab that people are convincing themselves is really about entertainment.
Mango,
I think that’s exactly it. The Targ spinoff will be insanely expensive, but the show became fixated on those dragons, its no surprise to see them double down on it. Recognisable names, battles and lots of dragons, a sure hit.
Thank you for your condolences. I truly am disappointed. I really thought a show with Naomi Watts was a can’t-miss proposition.
Let’s see if there’s anyone with half a brain at the HBO beancounting department who’s going to write a $5 million check payable to “Margaret Constance Williams”, or better yet, just back up a Brink’s truck stuffed with $5 million in cash to Maisie’s front door.
So learning earlier that D&D dropped out of SW, and previously wondering if that had been the reason they shortened the last two seasons, only to drop out of SW pissed me off.
Now to hear this pilot has been dropped, which some had said was the reason the NK and WW weren’t fully explained at the end of GoT, makes me furious if all these things end up being true.
Damn, damn, damn. I was looking forward to this so much, especially given the casting of Naomi Watts and Miranda Richardson. And how much I miss this world and this fandom, and want to have more things to drool and argue and froth over.
Sigh. My sucky year continues in its suckiness.
Moichendizing, moichendizing, moichendizing. Where the real money is made.
Yes. They must be worried about the cost but the other ingredients are in place.
But you know what…for me it was the Lannisters that made GOT so riveting in the first 4 seasons. Charles Dance and Joffery and Tyrion and Jaime and Cersei. Charles Dance in particular. Of course, Arya and Daenerys and Jon were also very interesting. But those 5 were the essential building blocks.
I hope the final two months are filled with wonderful surprises. If not, 2020 must be your year!
I’m not really too surprised, but I am thoroughly disappointed.
I didn’t have very high hopes for the series, but I was looking forward to seeing the original Long Night and the Age of Heroes and all that.
And of course I was looking forward to seeing Naomi Watts as one of the leads.
HBO shouldn’t try to rush a spin-off show. They should make sure they find truly talented writers with a brilliant script, rich characters, and a strong vision.
If it doesn’t match the quality of GoT’s early seasons, it’s not worth making. Don’t just pump out a cash grab.
Make quality TV.
Mango,
I really think that Tywin was such an underappreciated and undervalued character in GoT. The show just wasn’t the same without him, IMO. He was one of the few intelligent “bad guys”. Most of the others were dopes who couldn’t think their way out of a paper bag. It made them somewhat boring and one-dimensional as a result, IMO.
Mine too. 🤦🏻♂️
Exactly.
As as I said on the other thread – HBO has data on their merchandising sales. They know what stuff was moving. They should see that since GOT8, sales are down. But they may have some hope that this franchise could be revived via the dragons family. (Only Mau and Dragon and 5 others bought the King Bran doll – the one doll that not revealed until after the finale!)
I saw mention of this earlier, not sure where, and didn’t want to think it was true. I’m disappointed, I really like Naomi Watts, and although it wasn’t the prequel material “I” would have picked as first choice, I really expected it would be greenlit. Dammit.
As you know, I respectfully disagree. For me, it was Arya, then Arya & Sandor, that “made GoT so riveting in the first four seasons.”
I was five seconds away from clicking off the remote while watching S1e1…and then Arya zinged the arrow into the bullseye and took a bow. That made me keep watching.
And Arya’s subsequent odyssey kept me engrossed.
“No Arya, no show. It’s as simple as that.”
– Hot Pie
Good riddance, who even cares about The Long Night or White Walkers after the last season. If they wanted to add more depth to them they should have done so in the main series.
You and Arya are a special case. Ahem.
SWAON,
This. All day. This.
Mango,
There’s a King Bran doll?* What does it do, just sit there and stare off into space with a blank look in his eyes?
* Other characters’ catch phrases sold separately.
I would think that fans of the prequel would prefer a delay if it means getting the show right rather than rushing an inferior product out there just to get it out there.
Not so sure about that. I’d be curious to see the “Q” ratings. I’d bet No One scores higher.
Lol, no way, there’s a chord in the back that you can pull to make Bran talk. Although, he’ll probably just say something creepy and turn out to be rather useless in the end 😉
What made the show “so riveting in the first four seasons” was the fact that it was following the first three books, which everyone agrees are great. After that, the fifth season went into stuff from FfC & DoD, which got a much more mixed reception than the first three books.
With D&D now bowing out of Star Wars, it’s been a weird GoT-related week.
Hey, anyone else interested in The Mandolorian, starring out dear Pedro Pascal? I’m debating.
Not sure how to feel. The premise wasn’t too interesting, but I liked the cast and showrunner/director. I Feel for the people involved, but that’s part of the business. Hopefully, the Dance of the Dragons works out better if that’s what they decide to do.
Mr Derp,
I think the point was that HBO should have had a better plan in place to begin with.
On the other hand, they may be waiting for the fanbase anger and upset to fade.
They have more data than we do on the sales on the blu rays etc on the GOT8 and merchandising. They may be looking at a seriously damaged franchise. In that case, waiting may be the best play. See if the fanbase anger fades and nostalgia sets in, and they make a second try with this franchise.
Or not.
I’m a bit disappointed with this news. I would loved to have seen naomi Watts in the lead of my favorite world. HBO need to put her in at least another prequel.
As for prequels, I want a prequel not in Westeros. or the Essos we saw in the main show. I want the beginning of the far east. Asshai before it was turned into the shadow lands. That leads to the catastrophe of what made it the shadow lands as the end of part 1 of the story. And having part 2 about what happens after that. But I think the budget for that is to big if they made that now. But maybe over 5 years.
Mr Derp,
Agree.
I see what you did there!
Everyone loved Arya from the start – but I doubt everyone loved her as much as you do. Or that they watched GOT to follow the little girl mainly. She was not a part of the big powerplays and politics that were so important in 1-4.
Mango,
Thank you so much!!!
I’ll be celebrating my 50th in February, so there’s that. Half a century down!
Nick20,
I agree passionately with all of this. What I fear, though—especially given the talent involved in this—is that HBO did get a quality pilot, but opted for cash grab instead. :/
I feel like Cersei in The Bells. Watching everything fall apart and burn lol
But it’s better not to have this show if it’s really not working.
Mr Derp,
The hobbit.
So, Bloodmoon can’t really be apples-to-apples compared to Better Call Saul. That story (while I’ve not seen it) is an origin story of how Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman. (one day I’ll watch, I promise). But Bloodmoon can only loosely be considered a ‘prequel.’ No character that we ever remotely knew would be a part of it (unless they were to find a way to magic Bran into it, I suppose). It would consist entirely of new characters and form a brand new story. So it was truly, in my opinion, a blank slate for them to create.
Ten Bears,
I’m so sorry.
I’ve been hearing my long-gone grandmother’s voice in my head: “This too shall pass.”
And hopefully, so too will our dearth of new GoT/ASoIaF material.
I did! I’d read the published books prior to the series starting so Arya was already my favorite character when it premiered. It also helped that they made what I would call ‘one of the best castings for a character ever.’
Worst new of the year. Knowing that there won’t be a prequel on the long night, and that we will probably never know more from books that will never come out, it literally makes me go out of my mind.
I can’t stand to this
David Rosenblatt,
Couldn’t agree with you more David and this is how I was about to respond to the post. The whole “prequel” thing was so overblown to the point where I heard people saying they weren’t interested in watching because they knew where it was going. But the prequel aspect of it was besides the point, something that would probably play in the background much like the White Walkers did in the original series. The heart of the series would be the infighting and politics and struggles of all the human characters, much like the original series was. And to that end, anything was possible as to what could happen. Like you say, it was a blank slate for a brand new GoT story that simply took place in a different era.
Do Valyria !
Baby Maisie was a joy, was’nt she?
I had been thinking that it wasn’t a good sign that it’s been so quiet for this long since the pilot filmed. I suppose it’s smart to step back on it if it wasn’t looking strong enough. Hopefully they’re not considering dropping everything with the franchise. There’s a lot of high-budget fantasy on the horizon to compete with compared to during the run of GoT. They should have a benefit in built-in viewer interest over the likes of The Witcher and TWoT, but if they’re done well and gain popularity steam HBO can’t come along with something substandard. Those and some of the others will benefit from adapting successfully written stories, like ASoIaF. There is a lot of strong lore and material to use for this franchise but it’s going to take some quality creativity to put together another successful show.
Clob,
I’m still confident the House Targaryen show in development by Ryan Condal can be hugely successful both creatively and in terms of ratings. Just a shame we couldn’t have both given HBO’s resources.
Which leads me to wonder if they’ll ever have a smaller budgeted spinoff exclusive for HBO Max since that will be a new avenue for content.
Makes sense. Why would i care about the White Walkers origins if they are doom to have such a lame ending, and be so pointless in the future?
Clob,
They’ve got His Dark Materials starting this week, that’s probably better known than GOT when it first started (they made that crap movie). They are supposedly doing 5 Seasons of that, I pray its good because I LOVE the books. It’s a HBO/BBC collab I think.
Gonna have to disagree with you there. Big part of the powerplays or politics or not, many loved her as much as Ten Bears. And I think it’s likely that I loved her as much (or more even).
Look, there’s a reason that on just about 99% of the polls ever taken that Arya was ALWAYS in the top 5, and almost 99% of those polls, she was in the top 3 and in 90% of those polls, she was in the top 2, and in 30 to 40% of those polls, she was number 1. And that’s just going online… offline, casual viewers? It was Tyrion, Arya, Jon and Dany. A mix of those four, those were THE popular characters. Period. End of… No more talking about it. (And psst… the first two, those were the favorites because unlike Jon and Dany, they didn’t have a shit-ton of people who DIDN’T like them to counteract the love.)
Arya Freaking Stark was an immensely, incredibly, crazy popular character. Don’t even try and play like Ten Bears is in the minority in loving the character like he breathes. Like even.
As for the topic at hand… I’m a bit bummed, but I like the Targ idea better. Ideally, I’d like to see an Arya spin-off, but I only want it with Gendry beside her because he clearly is part of her continuing story. My girl was wearing a different-colored capelet in her last two scenes than she had earlier in the season: This one had Baratheon colors. Oh, yes, it did!
I would definitely watch an Arya spinoff.
And I disagree with the above person who poo-poo’d that people watched the show for Arya – she is my husband’s favorite character. I certainly loved her.
I have to agree that a prequel is not as exciting as a spinoff. We are already invested in these characters, and if they don’t have anything better to do and want to come back when the time is right…. I’d watch it, hell yeah.
1) What are you disagreeing about?
TB has been her most faithful and active and ardent supporter on this board – since I have been here anyway. This makes TB a very special supporter of Arya in my eyes.
How could I remember that you are so passionate? By Thursday, I will have forgotten this post and who you liked. But not TB! She is his favorite subject.
2) I pointed out that everyone loved Arya – so TB is clearly not the minority. I am not sure why you think that was the tack I was taking. I also happen to love Arya but not as much as TB.
3) The story that kept my attention was the political story. The exploration of power. This was centered in KL with stunning performances by Charles Dance in particular.
A remake of Kung Fu with Arya would be fantastic. Arya is on the run stopping from town to town (or if she’s sailing, she may stop at different ports). Perhaps she can’t remember her true identity and has flashbacks to her old life at the HOBAW and has wolf dreams… etc… Just like Kung Fu, she goes from town to town getting work the best she can and finding more trouble wherever she goes.. As with Kung Fu, she usually gets the townfolk out of trouble by winning an amazing fight scene at the end of each episode.
Back to the pilot.. I was really hoping to see more of LEAF and the COTF. My guess is they spent too much time on making it like Rome (seeing the wardrobe) and less with the fantasy elements. I was really interested more in the COTF culture and the long night folklore. I’m sad that it didn’t make it. I would have watched even if it was too much like Kings Landing thousands of years ago. It did have the makings of a good cast like others mentioned and it had some talented people involved.
by the way, I started Arya’s next chapter!! I had to go to work and I’m on a break between students now… But I will finish it when I get home!
No, I never dismissed that anyone would watch the show for Arya. In fact, some fans watched for Ramsay. Many watched for Stannis. Or Melisandre. In a big ensemble, every character will have their fans.
The point I made was that for me the core of 1-4 was the political story that played out with the KL based characters. And Charles Dance delivered a great performance.
You’ve got to be kidding me. This news breaks now? Today, of all days?
I’m saddened because I was genuinely eager to seeing what stories Jane Goldman and company had devised for this new era in the Game of Thrones universe. The cast was great, and everyone seemed so pleased to be involved. Now, they won’t get the chance, and that’s devastating.
I’m stunned because while I knew objectively the odds were against any show making it to air, I genuinely didn’t believe that HBO would pull the plug entirely. Rework, recast, delay, sure … but not cancel entirely. Though I suppose there’s a bitter sense of thematic justice to it.
(Guess what, vaunted Internet screenwriters who engage in performative outrage over “new” information that’s actually many years old – even if you are experienced with a strong creative pedigree when you’re given an opportunity like this, making a TV show is fucking hard work. And no, you and theory-addled hivemind could not do it better.)
And I’m disgusted, because there are certain vindictive people out there publicly reveling in this news for reasons that I find beyond pathetic and sad. That’s all I’ll say about that, before I pop a blood vessel in my eye.
Today has been horrible through and through. I know it’s only Tuesday, but I need a goddamn drink. Then I’m going to go rewatch Season 8 and remind myself why I love this show and this world so much. I don’t usually need that reminder, but today, I really, really do.
Mr Derp,
Nope pretty sure the last truly successful spinoff/prequel was Frasier before Better Call Saul if you don’t count the CW shows which sometimes get spinoffs albeit at low audience ratings. I still remember had badly the prequel of battlestar galatica crashed and burned.
Mr Derp,
BCS is fine. It’s just so boring. I had to stop after S1.
Ten Bears,
… and maybe the pilot was not good at all? Maybe it’s not the ‘oblivious men’ that are blind for success and good art?
Remember, this business is all about the money which is absolutely understandable. This is also true that the best art is the least paid one – look at the David Simon’s masterpieces, these are not very attention-drawing series.
Hopefully, it is the right decision, a well-thought one. Maybe even GRRM was disappointed with the results? He said it was ‘spectacular’… from the raw material and scripts.
I’m pretty disappointed too, but as someone said before, I had some serious concerns about the times in which action would take place. It was all about being as much disconnected from GoT as possible. And on top of that, the world itself wasn’t really established, so it was all on the screenwriter’s shoulders. Dance of the Dragons on the other hand is a work of GRRM, so it’s a safe bet for investors.
Sad to hear, but I just don’t see anything working without Mr. Benioff and Mr. Weiss. I don’t think people realize how much they managed and oversaw as the show runners. HBO will never recapture the magic and wonder that was 8 marvelous seasons of GoT.
Welcome to the age of AT&T ownership ladies and gentlemen! This is what you get for going to bed with a toxic, nauseating garbage corporation like that. That is the elephant in the room.
Their cash comes at a cost. Whatever independence and creative freedom HBO enjoyed is now gone and they are just another cog in the structure of a mega corporation that is interested in scale and quantity over quality in their desire to compete with others like Disney, Apple, Netflix, Amazon etc.
To drive that point home, pretty much all the people who guided and molded HBO have been shown the door.
Robert Greenblatt is now in charge. Let that sink in. Probably the worst choice they could have made…with perhaps the exception of Kathleen Kennedy’s appointment as the head of Lucasfilm.
Now having said all this, in a way I’m not that sorry to see this project gone. Sure I’m intrigued by what might have been and a bit surprised that they bailed soo late in production.
But the CW level quality stench this project must have been wafting, from the casting, to the production, the settings, storyline, character development etc., must have become reality in the pilot, soo much so that it gave them cold feet.
Maybe they can beg Bryan Cogman to come back and revive his project and get Martin to finish his damn novels…
Thank heavens “The Mandalorian” is coming up a show I anticipate in the same way I did GOT… nothing will ever replace GOT and HBO knows but if…”gems” like “Euphoria” and “Watchmen” are an indication of what is to come yikes! Nevermind the upcoming onslaught of Jar Jar Abrams.
PS I’m glad D&D left “Star Wars” and spared themselves further ridicule, hatred and abuse from parts of that fandom, they received enough of that at the hands of the GOT “real fandom”.
English is not my native language. But I don’t know the meaning of “Performative outrage”. So if somebody can explain what this mean, and especially in the content of this news.
And what does “Theory-addled Hivemind” mean? I tried to translate it in google but it didn’t give me a translation.
Meh I have to admit, I’m really bummed about this. I was really looking forward to this spin-off series. For a second there, it seemed like the stars aligned, they got a show runner whose work I love, a fantastic lead actress, a new and interesting setting ripe for compelling characters and stories.
I don’t understand what happened? HBO liked Jane’s script and series bible enough to shoot the pilot. Couldn’t they just have ironed things out like they did for the original GoT pilot?
There must have been creative differences and they decided to part ways, and maybe contractually HBO wasn’t allowed to move forward with the series without Jane as the show runner.
I’m not really looking forward to the other guy’s spin off as I have no idea who he is and frankly, I don’t think he should’ve been considered for a series with his previous body of work. It’s not to say that he can’t be great, but HBO should be going after prestige writers that already have had big success like Charlie Brooker or Craig Mazin.
loco73,
Amen to what you said about AT & T, but I don’t understand why you got a CW stench from this spin off? What has Jane Goldman written that has been CW level? Or Naomi Watts or Miranda Richardson and some of the other actors / actresses.
Jared,
Purpose of these people is to make everyone feel miserable like they are. But we shouldn’t let their negativity affect our enjoyment.
They have power only if you let them. And why should we?
Nonsense. There are a ton of amazing producers, directors, and screenwriters out there that have the potential to do an amazing job.
LatrineDiggerBrian,
Sorry, I meant to say that Naomi Watts and Miranda Richardson were the reasons I was still curious about the project…but the rest yikes!
Wolfish,
I hope you enjoy your 50s as much as I did!!!
Well, it makes more sense now! Martin, Sapochnik, and Condal.
https://www.facebook.com/74133697733/posts/10157011767567734/
“House Of The Dragon, a Game of Thrones prequel is coming to HBO.
The series is co-created by George RR Martin and Ryan Condal. Miguel Sapochnik will partner with Condal as showrunner and will direct the pilot and additional episodes. Condal will be writing the series.”
Kj
Pigeon,
Hahahah. Fuck haters.
Edit
Mango,
The fan outrage may not be as severe as you think. Studies have shown that more people are positive about season 8 than negative. Regardless, the most important thing HBO cares about is viewership numbers, and season 8 was a ratings monster. The prequel was probably axed because, as stated in the article, HBO allegedly wasn’t excited about the pilot, or it was axed because fans weren’t really interested. If Fire and Blood is also axed, then I will concede that you are most likely correct and it is a damaged franchise. If, however, it does get made, that clearly means you’re wrong.
Edit: Well, look at that. You were wrong.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/live-feed/game-thrones-prequel-house-dragon-gets-hbo-series-order-1250974
Looks like HBO finally figured out what their audience wants lol
Well they just reported I’ve in Variety that “House Of The Dragon” is going ahead with a 10 episode order at HBO.
Miguel Sapochnik will direct the pilot and additional episodes…
Phew…
And how. 🙂
Pigeon,
Yep… as I thought. Any successor to GOT needs GRRMs direct involvement in the production to have a hope of success.
Sapochnik is showrunner. Not only director.
House of the dragon omg!
But wait does this mean. It can also be cancelled??????
These last 24hrs have been telling 👀
I do wish Cogman was still attached, but I’ll take it.
I wasn’t wild about the plot, but after listening to the Night watch podcast about it, I was getting excited. Wow, what a let down. I did wonder when there was so much build up to this, remembering that the first premier of GOT was awful and they had to start again.
Wonder if this has anything to do with the other announcement today that D&D were leaving SW for Netflix, which just seems like an odd choice, but I obviously don’t know the whole story…
ETA wow! now that is something I can really get behind.
Dee Stark,
It’s a full series order, no pilot need.
Dee Stark,
No. They ordered the show. Not just the pilot. It will have 10 episodes
I’m soo glad for Miguel Sapochnik! Well deserved! Bravo sir! Now please back Bryan Cogman!
🤘👍
It could be canceled after the first season, but it’s definitely getting at least 1 season.
Not really. (And I do not mind being wrong, I am often wrong!). However, you will see in this case at 3;50 pm today, I posted this on the other thread:
“It must be an interesting decision for HBO – should they screen a sequel? I think they will. So I will await confirmation on this news. However, GOT8 has made this a more complicated decision than it should have been.”
On this thread, I also pointed out that they must have figured out that the Targs are more popular for the story than the Starks.
Wow Sapochnik as show runner? We went from Jane Goldman to Sapochnik and this other clown? Wow. That’s a hilarious joke. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Jay Targ,
mau,
Im soooo happy!!
Mr. Benioff and Mr. Weiss have nothing to do with the GoT prequels/sequels. There is 0 correlation. Let the men rest already.
Young Dragon: You can see my comment earlier up this thread about the Condal series that we were discussing.
It also means that they will get a delay on the start of the series, right since I do not think this series is in production as yet. So they do take a break for the heat to settle.
Pigeon,
What? My head is spinning. First blood moon got canceled, which was a huge bummer. I was looking forward to that story, and seeing Naomi Watts starring in it.
And now this prequel already got a green light, without even a pilot have been shot. I’m very excited for it, but still sad about the Bloodmoon project.
Do we think this will start with Aegon the Conquorer. Or maybe even earlier in Valyria? I hope we will see Valyria.
Can’t wait. What a rollercoaster ride today. I think it’s a safe bet to say that like GoT this will go for seasons.
Mango,
You said GOT was a damaged franchise. Damaged franchises don’t get prequels. Period. That’s where you are wrong. And there was always going to be a gap between shows, regardless of how well received the final season was, so this doesn’t really prove anything.
kevin1989,
This has more than 25k likes on official GoT Twitter page in less than 30 minutes.
Dead brand LOOOOL
Will the haters now thank Benioff and Weiss since they blamed them for Bloodmoon cancellation?
There was a change is leadership at HBO. This may be a result of that change.
And clearly the Starks story did not look promising to start with….compared to the rich history of the Targs already developed by GRRM.
I would have watched it for the Starks.
Honestly, the White Walkers were pretty much deconstructed as a major threat in season 8. The way they were degraded from the big bad against whom the final battle was supposed to be fought to a minor nuisance that would easily be defeated before the heroes could turn towards the true villain – Cersei … yeah well, season 8 killed any interest in the White Walkers stone dead.
I’m not sure the Targaryen saga will have more pull though. I think fan interest will have waned considerably, and who knows whether new fans will flock to it in great enough numbers to justify the exorbitant costs.
mau,
In 30 minutes this announcement has almost as many retweets as new Star Wars show in a day lol
D&D made brand more powerful than modern Star Wars.
GOT is. Without doubt. I still pointed out that I expected that there would be series done by HBO.
The Targ story has lots of material outside of the GOT story. HBO is counting on that. GRRM has lots of Targ material.
It will be interesting to see where they focus and where we join the Dragons.
I know, I really like Naomi Watts…
I would kill to see Valyria! Jorah and Tyrion’s scene through the ruins, with the poem, was one of my favourite moments of the series.
mau,
I can’t wait. And destroyed is a big word, the ones that I know personally who weren’t that exited with season 8 still say that GoT is great as a whole, and want to watch a prequel of it.
Personally I would have liked both prequels. The first long night is very exited when to think of it. But who knows maybe after this prequel is done and technology is another step forward maybe we will get it then. It would be awesome if this prequel will up the scale of Planetos with maybe one part of Planetos. And another after that on a even bigger scale. The world of Ice and Fire is big and so much can be told.
I’m very exited. Only a bit down that good old George will have less time writing his books. Or maybe not maybe he finally have some rest now that it has a green light. And there’s already a book about it where a lot can be taken from.
But as for D&D it can still be that the backlash of season 8 is contributing to the factor that Bloodmoon is cancelled and this one get a get go.
But my first though was much more simpler why they went with this prequel. They can now promote with MS name, and GRRM name and HBO knows their work. MS has gotten them lots of awards.
Mango,
I’m not sure what you’re basing this on, but it’s certainly not based on reality. No, GOT is not a damaged franchise. If it was, House of the Dragon wouldn’t be happening. Come on, Mango. You said you can admit when you’re wrong. Now is the time to prove it.
House of the Dragon is based on a popular family from GOT. That is what HBO is banking on. The only reason people are so excited about this series is because GOT was a resounding success.
kevin1989,
I think you have to have Valyria but what do I know?
I’m sick to my stomach. I get why they went Targs, but GoT itself was a huge gamble (with a incredibly bad pilot). I wish they’d held on to being gutsy. I do not want another show that drowns in its on largess. GoT’s spectacle is one reason its storytelling became so inconsistent. I don’t want another heavily Anglo cast or to see the few characters of non-Euro culture be marginalized. And by the old gods and the new, I most looked forward to a story told with a woman in the writers’ room, something that would’ve been a cure to another batch of GoT ills.
Lots to agree with here.
I did not think of these issues. You raise some interesting points. I had only thought that the Targs might be a commercially viable story to tell but you are correct that there other things that matter.
NinaD,
I expect that the story will begin in Valyria. And I expect a lot of connections to the continent they are in. I think we will get more diverse cast with it, and more families in Valyria. But I agree that there should be a female writer working on the show. Hope Vanessa Taylor has time for it.
My last note on this issue. Even with the dismal end to GOT, I never doubted that it made sense to have HBO try for a prequel/sequel. In all the stories on this website about Ms Watts and the castings etc, I have never said (or even thought) that another series should not be tried by HBO. Yes, the franchise is damaged but that does not mean it did not have salvage value or was irreparable. You will notice I have never posted a single discouraging word about Bloodmoon.
Even today, I pointed that despite the news on Bloodmoon, that HBO would make another series.
As for why delay it, I pointed out two things – that the Condal series may happen if HBO switches to the Targs. (They could see what merchandise was selling best.) GRRM has always said he has several ideas in development. I also pointed out that a delay may have benefits when someone commented on marketing issues.
Both points turn out to be close to the mark.
All we had today was news of the switch of the series. I am not sure why Bloodmoon never meant GOT8 was a resounding sucess but this new series means it was. GOT as a series was very good particularly the excellent 1-4 but GOT8 was a failure.
kevin1989,
You are so right.
Bloodmoon was the more natural flow from GOT8.
The Daenerys Targ fans prevailed in their rebellion against GOT8 and D&D. HBO will tell the Targ story not the Stark story.
Mango,
This isn’t about your previous comments about HBO making more prequels. It’s about your unfounded assertion that GOT is a damaged franchise, which it obviously isn’t, or a prequel show wouldn’t be in the process of being produced.
No, you said the delay was due to them waiting for the heat to settle. I was merely pointing out that there would have been a delay whether there was heat or no heat, so you don’t have the evidence to prove that.
I never said Bloodmoon wasn’t evidence that GOT was a resounding success. I only said that House of the Dragon was.
Season 8 was not a failure at all. It won 12 Emmys, including Best Drama, and broke HBO’s viewership records. That’s not what a failure looks like.
You wrote and I quote:
“but I doubt everyone loved her as much as you do. Or that they watched GOT to follow the little girl mainly. ”
You didn’t specify ON THIS BOARD. Just because I didn’t post as much as TB doesn’t mean that when I did I didn’t post passionately about Arya because trust me I did and have. The vast majority of my posts on here have been about Arya. (And Clob is just as passionate about TB, btw.) But again that’s beside the point. What you wrote was that you doubted that everyone loved her as much as you do (you being TB), but you didn’t specify you were only talking about WotW. And obviously I’m not the only one who got from your statement that you meant generally. I counteracted that with the very real fact that tons and tons and tons (and tons and tons, etc.) of people DO love Arya as much (or more) than TB. And, indeed, they watched the show for “the little girl” mainly.
Thanks for the clarification.
(1) I am sorry that I do not remember any of your posts. It is not meant to be disrespectful. I remember your name (sort of) but not your views. I do not dwell on the opinions expressed here and I do not take it that seriously to actually recall every outstanding poster or post.
(2) Anyway, just to clarify what I wrote:
(a) If I had said “no-one loves her as much as you do” then this phrasing would mean that TB loves Arya more than any other human being on this board or elsewhere on the planet. Notice, I did not say that. Yes, I responded to this idea in my message to you as this is where you seem to be objecting. I also asked why the objection knowing I was responding a bit in the dark. I did not actually belittle anyone else’s love for Arya.
(b) When I said ” I doubt that everyone loves her as much you do” then in normal usage in my neck of the woods means that I doubt that every person on the planet including on this board loves her as much as TB. This is undoubtedly true. For example, I love her but not as much as TB. Some do not like her. It is also true that not everyone watched 1-4 to follow Arya. Many but not everyone!
Actually you could object to the sentence in my post saying that says “Everyone loves Arya….”. That sentence is clearly false. I used it anyway as I agree with you that she is one of the most popular characters.
JenniferH,
Thanks. I knew I’m not alone. Far from it. Just about everyone I know is enamored with Arya and Maisie Williams’s portrayal of this now-iconic character.
Although this is not a scientific study, I couldn’t help but notice that even casual fans have a special attachment to the character. Watching fans cheering in reaction to the S8e3 Arya vs. NK
scene (in the Burlington Bar video; link below), you’d they were baseball fans watching their team win Game 7 of the World Series 5-4 on a grand slam on an 0 and 2 count with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5wm3fY5pCY
By the way, that was one of the few Arya scenes that I personally didn’t enjoy that much; it looked like she materialized out of thin air. However, without exception, fans always go nuts for Arya scenes. So I am confident it’s not “only” me.
#FollowTheLittleGirl
From what I wrote, why would you think you are alone? I am still stumped….
“Not everyone” is very different from “only you” love Arya. It is actually the statement of an obvious truth.
I am an Arya fan so it would be odd to be asserting that you are the only Arya fan, wouldn’t?
Ok, maybe I am jetlagged but I am more bewildered each minute. Sleep.
Mango,
Hey Mango!
Quantifying the intensity of fans’ appreciation for a particular character or actor is probably a useless exercise. (I know there are many fans who adore Alfie Allen and his portrayal of Theon. While I don’t share their enthusiasm, I don’t question it.)
I “followed the little girl” because I thought the character was brilliantly drawn, and the child actress they found was a prodigy. GRRM and the showrunners felt the same way about Maisie Williams.
I’ve done my share of griping (civilly) when I thought the show’s scripts or peformances warranted it. I figure it’s only right that I praise them when they’ve earned it.
We’re still friends, right? 🖖
Oh, and…
ASNAWP!!!!
Ten Bears,
Mellow Yellow!!!
Uh.. and me! Honestly, I love all the characters in the story, but I instantly fell in love with Arya in episode 1×02 and she remained my favourite by a mile all the way through. Heck, I dropped $400 without a thought on a high quality photo print of her sparring with Brienne. 🙂
JenniferH,
Also, every March a Twitter user by the name of “Davos’ Fingers” holds a March Madness bracket for GoT characters, and last year Arya won for the second year in a row, and she remains the only character to date with this distinction (and the only female to have come out as the champion). Furthermore, there was a concerted effort by some voters to vote against Arya since she took the crown the previous year, and she still came out on top. That’s our ASNAWP! 🙂
I can’t believe what I’ve just read. I know it wouldn’t have been GOT, but it would have belonged to the same verse… I’m too upset to even read the other comments.
Just saw GOT posted on youtube an hour ago that “only the pilot was rejected, just like the original”, despite what media is reporting. A further comment said “it’s complicated”.
Mango,
Well I meant more that s1-4 was the favorite of many fans (Not saying that s5-8 is bad just that many talk about the first 4 are better than after that). HBO must have heard that. GRRM was more involved in those seasons. So it’s possible that HBO thinks that they need a show that GRRM is once again involved in. But I’m not a suite at hbo, so what do I know.
But probably it’s just. We know MS, we know GRRM.
Silent Sister,
Maybe it’s to expensive right now? And they will make the long night after Blood of the dragon is finished, or almost finished.
Not mad at all about this. Seemed it would be boring anyway given that we already know the history or backstory of the Night King, white walkers, and wights. Plus they don’t seem that scary or interesting now that we know how easily they can be defeated… and by a child no less! Albeit ASNAWP or whatever the hell you guys call her. Moving on to House of the Dragon!! 🐉🐲💚
Raenarys,
I suggest you watch The Long Night again. That looked anything but easy.
Young Dragon,
I hate having to repeat myself but… MOVING ON TO HOUSE OF THE DRAGON!!! 😉
Looks like HBO finally realized nobody would care about the WWs 8,000 years ago now that we know how useless they were. But people will watch dragons and CGI.
Jake,
Those were my thoughts exactly.
AHHH! How could I forget you?! I knew it wasn’t just TB and Clob at this place who is a HUGE Arya fan (aside from me–although, I know I’m not as active a poster, I do believe I’m the biggest Arya/Gendry fan here, though, LOL!).
That’s really cool about that March Madness poll. That’s my girl! ASNAWP for the win!
ETA? “Honestly, I love all the characters in the story”
Eww! Even Ramsey?! (LOL!)
I was looking forward to seeing this stellar cast and having more Westeros in the not to distant future. I haven’t been so disappointed in a failed pilot since HBO chose not to go through with Zooey Deschanel in Miss Pamela “I’m With The Band” series OR “Scar Tissue” about Anthony Keidis’ dad, drug dealer to the stars, in favor of Bobby Cannavala’s 1970’s scene-chewing turn in “Vinyl.”
The Star Wars fans are mostly ecstatic that D&D will NOT be mucking around in their universe and if their utter cock-up of the NK and WW denouement tanked this project, I will be hard pressed to watch whatever it is they plan to do on Netflix.
Thank god. Everything about this show sounded terrible and every subsequent announcement made it worse. Can’t wait to watch House of the Dragon!!!
Oh Mango, you’re always so…right.
And I was a huge Arya fan (not enough to singularly obsess over her like some, but she was always top-five), ’til S8. ><
I'm with Kevin on the prequel I'd want most.
Jack Bauer 24,
Hello, David.
Wait what, I thought this was officially cancelled or is it still speculation somehow?
I had some minor concerns with the casting and did become sceptical once there was a long delay from filming ending then suddenly a new pilot focused on the Targs being green lit. Can we assume that this one is shelved for now but still some chance it does go ahead then?
But wasn’t GRRM heavily involved in this pilot too?
Good point. I enjoyed Breaking Bad but never even bothered watching Better Call Saul despite the fact people say it’s good. Hard even to think of any other spin offs which have been a success apart from possibly the Mandalorian if you can count that.
I am watching it with my daughter and we both love it, seems to have met with high critical acclaim too which is notable given how bad the reviews for Solo and the Last Jedi were.
I just don’t see this as if so they could easily have green lit both shows. If this is indeed officially cancelled then there must be a good reason behind it as I suspect HBO would rather put out more than less whilst the brand is still high.
I have been recording His Dark Materials on BBC, not watched any of it yet but the reviews seem to suggest it’s not been great. What did you think?
Whilst I tend to agree with you Star Wars is clearly a damaged franchise after the Last Jedi and Solo. They cancelled films and there are big concerns about the Rise of SkyWalker, thankfully the Mandalorian is looking like a huge success still
Wait what is this based upon? Pretty much everything I have seen universally has S4 and S6 as the best of the show which is a big disconnect from what you are stating Kevin.