Prior to this week, the post-Game of Thrones order of the universe seemed clear: The Game of Thrones saga would continue with the already-shot spinoff pilot starring Naomi Watts, with other spinoffs possibly to come. Meanwhile, the show’s original creators, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, wouldn’t be involved with the spinoffs, as they were set to write a new series of Star Wars movies, prior to starting their new nine-figure deal to produce new shows at Netlfix.
So much for (most of) that.
Benioff and Weiss this week joined the long list of writers and directors – also including Josh Trank, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and Colin Trevorrow – who have been dropped from Disney-era Star Wars projects.
Then, per Variety, it was announced that HBO had passed on the Game of Thrones pilot that starred Watts, one that was announced a year ago and set thousands of years prior to the events of the main Game of Thrones series. That project had been created by Jane Goldman, with Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin.
HBO had been developing at least five different GoT spinoffs, and now they’ve announced the next one: House of the Dragon, a series based on Martin’s Fire & Blood series, about the history of House Targaryen. Per Indiewire, this one is set only 300 years before Game of Thrones, and while it won’t include any of the characters from the original show, it will include ancestors of familiar characters .
Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, who directed several memorable Game of Thrones episodes, will serve as show-runners. And while the Watts series only received a pilot order and not a name, House of the Dragon has received a straight-to-series order.
“The ‘Game of Thrones’ universe is so rich with stories,” Casey Bloys, the network’s programming head, said in a statement. “We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan, and George.”
The new show is set for HBO, not the new HBO Max streaming service, although parent company Warner Media formally announced details about the service, which will launch next May, also Tuesday. The service, per CNBC, will be the exclusive streaming home of the entire run of South Park at launch; this year’s Joker film will stream there as well.
