What’s better than dragons on a TV screen? Dragons on a movie screen.
At least that’s the thinking with news a mooted Game of Thrones spin-off film is officially in the works at Warner Bros, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The focus will be on Aegon Targaryen’s conquest of Westeros, which set up the blonde-haired dragon riders as a ruling dynasty of the Seven Kingdoms for centuries.
Sign up to The Nightly’s newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.
In the fictional universe of Game of Thrones, the Targaryens were a powerful family from the continent of Essos, and Aegon had the dream of uniting all the kingdoms under his rule. The very uncomfortable-looking Iron Throne, literally the seat of power, was forged from the swords of his fallen enemies.
The film will be written by the American House of Cards creator Beau Willimon, who was also part of the team of the incredibly well received Star Wars thriller series Andor, and wrote the screenplay for Ides of March. Given Willimon’s experience, it’s a reasonable expectation that his Game of Thrones film will lean heavily into politics.
There were lots of power plays and court machinations in George R.R. Martin’s books and in the hit HBO TV series that ran from 2011 to 2019.
Peter Dinklage in Game of thrones. Credit: Supplied
A competing project with the same storyline of Aegon’s conquest is also in development at HBO – perhaps the two potential adaptations will have to duel it out like warring Westeros families battling for the Iron Throne.
A big screen Game of Thrones adventure has been envisioned before. The showrunners of the original series, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had pitched to HBO that Game of Thrones could end with a three-part cinema release, but it was rejected.
Game of Thrones remains one of HBO’s most defining franchises, as well as one of the most influential TV shows of the peak TV era. Every episode, especially in its later seasons, would generate scores of online articles, videos and posts as fans dissected every scene and line of dialogue for deeper meaning.
Its commercial and critical success led to every studio seeking their own fantasy franchise, hoping to replicate the Game of Thrones phenomenon, although none hit those same heights.
Even before the original series wrapped up, the network had already put several competing spin-off ideas into development. Many tried, many failed, including Blood Moon, a Naomi Watts-starring show that actually shot a very expensive pilot.
The Iron Throne was forged from the swords of Aegon’s conquered enemies. Credit: HBO
The first spin-off didn’t come until late-2022 with House of the Dragon, set about 200 years before Game of Thrones, and told the story of warring factions within the Targaryen family.
That series starred Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans and Olivia Cooke, and was a big-budget spectacle with many visual effects including those dragons.
But the unwieldy House of the Dragon had mixed reviews and couldn’t recapture the same magic and didn’t have the same cultural cachet as Game of Thrones.
It has also been mired in a creative spat between Martin and showrunner Ryan Condal after the pair fell-out over the TV series pruning some storylines Martin insisted would be essential for continuity later.
A more recent spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, co-created by Martin and Ira Parker, has been more of a critical hit.
It was more lowkey and contained, and was grounded in the dynamics between its lead characters, a newbie hedge knight and his young squire. The show was based on Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas and will run for at least three seasons.
