Game of Thrones spin offs

What Game of Thrones Spin-Offs Are Actually Happening?

Warning: contains spoilers

The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones is over—pause for quiet sobbing—but discussions about the beloved series show no signs of slowing down. According to Forbes, 13.6 million viewers watched the show’s finale on May 19 but that number quickly rose to a whopping 19.3 million after people re-watched the controversial episode. And the Game of Thrones finale ratings weren’t just record-breaking numbers for the show, but in all of HBO’s network history, according to Forbes. With ratings like that, how could the network not take advantage of the buzz around this fictional-medieval-fantasy-action-drama? Here is everything you need to know about possible Game of Thrones spin-off shows, why there reportedly won’t be any sequels and if an Arya Stark series is in our future.

Proceed with caution: this article contains Game of Thrones spoilers!

 

So, what’s next for Game Of Thrones?

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, HBO programming president Casey Bloys was decidedly vague when asked if any Game of Thrones spin-off shows are in the works. “Who knows?! I’m not ruling it in, and I’m not ruling it out! I’m trying my best not to give you definitive answers to fuel speculation,” he said. But HBO confirms that a Game of Thrones prequel is ready to film and rumours from publications like Elle and Harper’s Bazaar (to name a few) assert that at least two more spin-off shows are in development.

When will the Game of Thrones spin-off shows air?

Bloys wouldn’t give a straight answer when asked when any of the rumoured spin-off shows will air, but he *did* confirm that a pilot for one of them is being shot in June. “We want to do the best show possible. This is a pilot, so we’re doing it the old-fashioned way, which is shooting a pilot.” Gotcha. 

Alright, so what is this Game of Thrones spin-off pilot about?

According to HBO, the pilot Bloys was referring to will be a prequel, *not* a sequel, to Game of Thrones. “Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series chronicles the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. From the horrifying secrets of Westeros’s history to the true origin of the White Walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend, only one thing is for sure: It’s not the story we think we know,” said HBO. We are officially intrigued. 

Has anyone been cast in the Game of Thrones prequel yet?

Why, yes they have! Naomi Watts was the first to be cast. She will play the lead role of “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.” As for her co-actors? Miranda Richardson (from Harry Potter), Naomi Ackie (from Star Wars), Jamie Campbell Bower (from the Twilight saga) and Georgie Henley (from The Chronicles of Narnia) have all signed on.

Will Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin be involved?

Of course! Martin, the author of the book on which the series was based, A Song of Ice and Fire, will be involved. The details are murky at this stage but read on for more details. 

I heard a rumour the Game of Thrones spin-off will be called The Long Night

If you are referring to Martin’s blog post teasing this title, then that rumour appears to be correct. While HBO wasn’t happy that the author leaked this information last November, Martin posted again on his blog earlier this month, writing: “We have had five different GAME OF THRONES successor shows in development (I mislike the term “spinoffs”) at HBO, and three of them are still moving forward nicely. The one I am not supposed to call THE LONG NIGHT will be shooting later this year, and two other shows remain in the script stage, but are edging closer.”

Martin also hinted that the series could be based on his other book Fire & Blood. It’s hard to say at this stage what the prequel will be about but as you may have guessed, the internet has lots of predictions (kinda like we did for Game of Thrones season eight).

Okay, but if the Game of Thrones prequel is called The Long Night, what does that even refer to in GoT speak?

The long night was a winter in the GoT universe (about 10,000 years ago) that lasted generations, resulting in famine and terror. It also marks the first seizure of Westeros by the White Walkers.

So, is there any chance one of the other Game of Thrones spin-off shows is an Arya Stark sequel?

Sadly, no. Game of Thrones ended with Arya travelling west of Westeros to explore, so you’d think that would be the perfect set-up for an Arya Stark spin-off. But Bloys told the Hollywood Reporter that isn’t in the cards for the franchise. “I want to let [Game of Thrones] be the artistic piece they’ve got. That’s one of the reasons why I’m not trying to do the same show over,” says Bloys.

Dang it. Okay, so what about Game of Thrones sequels with any other cast members?

That would also be a no. While at least one prequel is in the works, Bloys is taking a hard pass on sequels. Why? “Nope, nope, nope. No,” he said when asked about the possibility of GoT sequels. “Part of it is, I do want this show—this Game of Thrones, Dan and David’s show—to be its own thing. I don’t want to take characters from this world that they did beautifully and put them off into another world with someone else creating it.” Well, there you have it. 

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