The Big Picture

• HBO's House of the Dragon has been a success, with plans for a second season airing in 2024.
• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge King is another spinoff in the works based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg.
• George R. R. Martin announced that HBO is exploring other potential spinoffs with animation, including an animated series set in the Yi Ti dynasty.

It’s currently an era where media empires live and die based on the properties at their disposal. Disney is entirely devoted to curating their Marvel and Star Wars franchises, Amazon is dominated by fantasy content like Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time, Paramount is shaping its new streaming service around the Star Trek franchise, and Netflix has based their success around properties like Stranger Things and The Witcher. There is no bigger weapon in HBO’s arsenal than Game of Thrones. Although George R.R. Martin has yet to conclude the novel series, the Game of Thrones universe continues to expand with additional spinoff shows.

Game of Thrones was a sensation when it aired. Although fans have been vocal about their distaste for the final entry in the saga, the first seven seasons of the series offered some of the best dramatic storytelling of the Golden Age of television. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series offered the perfect mix of high fantasy, political intrigue, shocking plot twists, and great characters. The series earned four Emmy Awards for Best Drama Series and cultivated a loyal fanbase. Tts first spinoff, House of the Dragon, has already created a similar path of success, earning critical acclaim and a massive ratings boost for HBO with its first season with a second season coming this summer. Although Game of Thrones is now over, the future looks bright for Westeros. Here is every spinoff series that has been in development.

House of the Dragon

Martin collaborated with showrunner Ryan Condal to create the story of the war of succession that plagued House Targaryen. Set around two centuries prior to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon picks up during the rule of King Viserys I (Paddy Considine). When Viserys is unable to bear a male child, he decides to name his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy/Milly Alcock) as the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. This sparks conflict with the King’s vengeful brother, Daemon (Matt Smith).

The first season of House of the Dragon consisted of 10 episodes, and the strong viewer response to not only the pilot episode “The Heirs of the Dragon,” but every episode following, suggested that fans were happy to return to Westeros in spite of how Game of Thrones ended — as well as ensured House of the Dragon's status as must-watch Sunday night television. The pilot was so popular that it caused HBO Max’s service to crash. A second season is set to air June 16, 2024, with plans for subsequent seasons being developed.

Aegon’s Conquest

While the legend of Aegon the Conqueror has been teased throughout House of the Dragon, the story of the most influential member of House Targaryen has yet to be seen on screen. In one of the most important moments in the history of A Song Of Ice and Fire, Aegon I launched a series of strategic weddings, devastating dragon attacks, and ruthless alliances in a massive campaign of Westeros. He succeeded in conquering six of the seven kingdoms, as he was unable to reach Dorne.

“Aegon’s Conquest” will be the subject of another spinoff series from writer Matt Tomlin, who received acclaim for his strong work on the DC superhero film The Batman and is co-writing The Batman Part II. While there is no word on potential casting updates or a release window, the details of “Aegon’s Conquest” can be found in Martin’s novel Fire and Blood.

Cancelled — Untitled Jon Snow Sequel Series

One of the chief criticisms of Game of Thrones Season 8 was the unsatisfying fate of Jon Snow (Kit Harington). Even though he is really a Targaryen and the rightful ruler of the Iron Throne, Jon ends the series by going back to the North and leaving Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) to rule. While a new series that continues after the ending of Game of Thrones was proposed to give the character a more satisfying sendoff, Harington confirmed recently that the Jon Snow spinoff series has been cancelled.

Harington was set to reprise his role in an untitled spinoff, which Martin revealed that the actor had pitched himself. While he did not entirely rule out the possibility of some sort of Jon Snow story existing one day, Harington stated that the Jon Snow spinoff is "off the table because we all couldn't find the right story to tell that we were all excited about enough." However, Harington's future at HBO may be bright, as he is set to appear in the highly anticipated third season of Industry in late 2024.

The Sea Snake

One of the standout characters in House of the Dragon was the most enigmatic member of the King’s Council, Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint). Also known as “The Sea Snake,” Corlys earned his reputation through his infamous adventures as a naval warrior. HBO appears to be working on a prequel series to House of the Dragon that will focus on The Sea Snake’s earlier, globetrotting days.

The pilot script for The Sea Snake comes from The Mentalist creator Bruno Heller. Prior to pitching The Sea Snake, Heller also approached HBO about a prequel series focused on Robert's Rebellion, the period when Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) and Ned Stark’s (Sean Bean) fought against “The Mad King” that immediately predates Game of Thrones. While there's been no word on the Robert's Rebellion project, Martin did reveal that The Sea Snake (also titled Nine Voyages) would now be an animated series.

10,000 Ships

Another prequel series in the works about the adventures in the Westerosi waters is the spinoff 10,000 Ships. Set 1,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series will reportedly focus on a key figure within Westerosi legend: the founder of Dorne, Princess Nymeria. The princess is a legendary figure whose name has been mentioned multiple times, most notably Arya Stark's (Maisie Williams) direwolf is named after the figure. Person of Interest writer Amanda Segel has been attached to the project. 10,000 Ships must be among the key shows that HBO is prioritizing; The Nine Voyages was renamed The Sea Snake to avoid too many titles with numbers.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge King

The Tales of Dunk and Egg book series consists of three novellas written by Martin that are set 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Set between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge King follows Ser Duncan the Tall (also known as “Dunk”) and a young Aegon V Targaryen (aka “Egg”) during their early adventures. So far, the book series includes 1998's The Hedge Knight, 2003’s The Sworn Sword, and 2010’s The Mystery Night, but Martin has indicated that he’s interested in continuing the series. The books are being adapted to a series that is currently in development with writer Steve Conrad tapped as executive producer and writer for the series. The show also recently cast Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell for the titular roles.

The Golden Empire Animated Series

HBO is reportedly looking to expand its Game of Thrones universe into animation. Martin announced on his blog that several animated sereis were in development, citing the popularity of animated programming like Blue Eye Samuari as the primary reason to move Westeros into animation. Although he revealed two previous pitches had been shelved (not specifying which ones), Martin was optimistic, claiming that the creative team is "getting close to taking the next step with a couple of them." On top of The Sea Snake, Martin had previously confirmed that one of the shows will be focused on the Yi Ti dynasty of Essos. The Golden Empire would focus on the area of the Game of Thrones map that serves as a loose parallel to Imperial China. Martin has only said that a “young writer” is working on the show, but that the early artwork is “stunning.”

Cancelled — Untitled Flea Bottom Series

The slums of King’s Landing aren’t just a hive of scum and villainy, it is in these impoverished communities where characters like Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) were raised. Unfortunately, the further adventures of the Flea Bottom residents aren’t going to be the subject of any spinoff series. A live-action show focused on Flea Bottom and its heroes was in the works, but is no longer moving forward.

Cancelled — Bloodmoon

Veteran Marvel screenwriter Jane Goldman was handed the prequel series Bloodmoon, set during the Age of Heroes era 8,000 years before Game of Thrones. A pilot starring Naomi Watts, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Naomi Ackie was shot, but HBO opted not to green-light the series. HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys later said that while the pilot wasn’t a disaster, “it required a lot more invention.”

Watch Season 1 of House of the Dragon on Max in the U.S.

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