HBO’s Game Of Thrones Spinoffs Avoid The Original Show’s GRRM Issue

HBO has several Game of Thrones spinoffs in the works, and the new shows will avoid one major George R.R. Martin issue with the original series. HBO wants to capitalize on its Game of Thrones franchise, doing so with several new spinoffs of the fantasy series. House of the Dragon is the first spinoff making it to air, with the tale of Targaryen history premiering on HBO in 2022. However, HBO is also working on several live-action series and animated shows. For instance, The Sea Snake will cover Corlys Velaryon, and Ten Thousand Ships will be a series about Princess Nymeria and her formidable fleet.

Of course, not all Game of Thrones spinoffs receive a happy ending. HBO received a lot of publicity over its canceled $30 million prequel show supposedly titled The Long Night. The series would’ve told the story of old Westeros and the history of the White Walkers, taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones. The canceled Game of Thrones show also had an impressive cast, with Naomi Watts, Josh Whitehouse, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Naomi Ackie. However, HBO pulled the plug on the show in 2019.

Game of Thrones had a controversial final season, but the spinoffs will avoid one mistake by the series. Though George R.R. Martin’s novels inspired HBO’s Game of Thrones, the author became less and less involved in the story as the series went on. In fact, Martin last wrote scripts for season 4 of the series. Season 5 then departs from Martin’s original story, culminating in a final season that caused an uproar among fans. However, Martin will remain heavily involved in the new shows. According to the author (via Not A Blog), he plans to keep everything “canonical.”

George R.R. Martin’s involvement in the spinoffs is essential. The author has a television background and wrote some of the most important episodes of Game of Thrones, including season 4’s “The Lion and the Rose,” which featured Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) memorably enjoying some wine and pie at his wedding. Game of Thrones received most of its backlash for moments that didn’t follow Martin’s stories, such as Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Ramsay’s (Iwan Rheon) wedding night. By keeping everything “canonical,” the new shows will closely resemble the stories fans first fell in love with.

The spinoffs also have another advantage over Game of Thrones. Martin originally planned to finish his A Song of Ice and Fire novels before the HBO show ended. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen since the author still has two unreleased books in the series, including the constantly delayed Winds of Winter. However, the announced spinoffs follow Martin’s previously released works or expand on stories that are already canon in the World of Westeros. By focusing on material that Martin already released, HBO will be able to keep the Game of Thrones spinoff shows sticking to the canon, which may ultimately avoid the pointy end of fan controversy.

About The Author

Bill Bradley
(524 Articles Published)

Bill is an experienced reporter who’s covered entertainment and fandom since 2014. He’s done everything from unearthing the discarded Game of Thrones pilot script in a library in Texas to finding out why Steve left Blue’s Clues. He also enjoys eating Taco Bell and drinking chocolate milk.

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