HBO's Game of Thrones sits alongside Marvel, DC, and Star Wars as the biggest pop culture phenomenons of all time. The unprecedented viewing figures, critical response, and interest throughout the entire show made it that much more impactful when Season 8 proved to be such a disappointing ending for many.
Nonetheless, Warner Bros. Discovery and book author George R.R. Martin are determined to push ahead with expanding the world into new corners. House of the Dragon recently began this stretch as HBO's latest epic explores House Targaryen's rule over Westeros, 172 years before Daenerys, and the events of the original show.
The critically-acclaimed premiere was only the beginning of the revival of this world, as more spin-offs are already in the works, including a sequel series starring Kit Harrington's Jon Snow. House of the Dragon may have been the first spin-off to see the light of day, but it wasn't the first in the pipeline as HBO previously produced an unaired pilot for Bloodmoon, a prequel set in the Age of Heroes.
Now, after the grand success of House of the Dragon, only one episode into its first season, the Game of Thrones universe is poised to expand after a promising update.
Game of Thrones Set for More Spin-Offs
Following the series premiere of House of the Dragon, which debuted to an HBO record-breaking 10 million viewers, the Game of Thrones prequel has been renewed for Season 2.
The Hollywood Reporter shared the news with a promising update for the future of George R.R. Martin's fantasy world. The trade outlet reported HBO has at least seven Game of Thrones spin-offs in development that included four live-action and three animated ventures.
With House of the Dragon debuting to record-breaking success off the back of the Game of Thrones name, the odds are high that at least one of the seven will receive a series order. The projects reported to be in development currently include The Sea Snake, Ten Thousand Ships, Snow, The Hedge Knight, and several animated tales.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Martin shared his hopes that at least "several" of the spin-offs go the distance to build "something akin to the Marvel or ‘Star Wars’ model:"
“How many shows will make it to air? I don’t know, but I hope the answer will be several. And we’ll have something akin to the Marvel or ‘Star Wars’ model by the time it’s all settled.”
Turning his attention to what it's been like to have writers pitching their spin-off ideas to him, Martin called it an "odd" experience:
“It was like we were in the NFL playoffs, and I’m coaching all the teams. Emotionally, that was a little odd.”
What Game of Thrones Spin-Off Will Come Next?
Well, House of the Dragon Season 1 is only just getting underway and still has nine episodes remaining. Who knows what may come next, perhaps it will be Season 2 of the Targaryen spin-off, or maybe one of the other series will be fast-tracked into production.
The HBO follow-up will reportedly begin filming in late 2022 for what ought to lead to a release in early 2024. As none of the other spin-offs appear to be quite that close to filming, House of the Dragon Season 2 ought to be next, unless perhaps one of the animated projects can fill the gap.
At the time when the news first broke in March 2021, The Sea Snake was reported to be the furthest along spin-off into production, aside from House of the Dragon. The ongoing series has even begun setting up this show with the introduction of the Sea Snake himself, Steve Toussaint's Corlys Velaryon.
Viewers have just met King Viserys' Master of Ships in his later years, but his already adventures, known as the "nine voyages," were among his more thrilling days. The Sea Snake was last said to be in the scripting stages, so perhaps his series will come about after audiences learn more about him in House of the Dragon.
With The Sea Snake poised to spin out of House of the Dragon while Snow directly follows Game of Thrones, HBO is well on the road to turning Westeros into a Marvel-like connected universe. Part of that process involves creating specific connections between projects, as opposed to just occupying the same world, and that certainly appears to be part of the plan.
House of the Dragon premieres new episodes every Sunday on HBO Max.
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