What's Going on With the Future of Game of Thrones ?
Game of Thrones may be over, but the world of Westeros will never truly leave us.
On Wednesday, April 14—exactly two years after the final season premiered and three days before the 10th anniversary of the series premiere—the Game of Thrones Twitter account sent fans into a tailspin when it tweeted, "Winter is coming." Now, that phrase can mean a lot of things to a GoT fan.
It's the title of the first episode ever, but it's also the Stark family motto. It's also a thing multiple characters say throughout the series, and it has become the easiest way to say that Game of Thrones or something related to it is on its way. It can also just mean that winter is literally coming, though on Game of Thrones, "winter" has a meaning that's a whole lot darker than just less sunlight and more snow.
It wouldn't be truly weird for the Game of Thrones Twitter account to tweet "Winter is coming" just whenever it feels like tweeting something, but considering the fact that it is April, there's an anniversary afoot, and it's only about to be Winter in Australia, it feels more likely that something bigger is on the horizon.
The final season of Game of Thrones was, of course, not very well-received, and neither was this tweet.
"Winter has GONE," wrote one Twitter user. "YOU BLEW IT."
"Never before have I seen a series nose dive so hard and be abandoned by its fans and viewers," wrote another. "I'm currently re-watching the show and it physically hurts to know how unrewarding the finale is. If y'all can revive this franchise, it would be a miracle."
"Season 8 remake?" another fan suggested.
One person had a really great, if difficult, idea.
"Between us I'm ALL IN on us pretending it's early 2019, season 8 hasn't happened yet, and doing the damn thing fresh," they said. "Our secret!"
The majority of fans who took the time to respond to the idea of winter coming seemed to be in agreement that they'd like to see another take on the ending to the show. They'll all get that chance whenever George R.R. Martin finishes writing his version of the story, but for now, it's more likely that the tweet was referring to the fact that the "Iron Anniversary" is just a couple of days away.
HBO has been celebrating 10 years of Game of Thrones all month long, with "maraThrones" and encouragements to relive big battles and character journeys. Marking the actual date of the anniversary (April 17) with an announcement that they're remaking the entire final season would be quite the unlikely twist, so we're mostly just anticipating actual
As for what's actually going on with the future of Game of Thrones, it's a lot! There are around six GoT spinoffs in development right now, at least.
The first one, and the only one that has actually been ordered to series, is House of the Dragon. It takes place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen and the civil war that threatened to tear the family apart. It's based on Martin's book Fire & Blood and features some characters whose names will be familiar to anyone who paid attention to Game of Thrones history.
The series stars Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Emma D'Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, or The Sea Snake, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and the newly added Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole.
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One other project in development centers around one of the characters in House of the Dragon. Lord Corlys Valaryon is also known as the Sea Snake, "the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros," according to HBO. He's married to Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, the cousin of King Viserys.
HBO is also reportedly developing a series based on Martin's Dunk & Egg series of novellas, which are about a knight named Ser Duncan the Tall (or Dunk) and his squire, Egg, who eventually becomes King Aegon V. The stories are set around 90 years before Game of Thrones.
Another project would be set 1,000 years before the original HBO series and follow the legendary Nymeria, the warrior queen who founded Dorne, and yet another would be set in Flea Bottom, a slum of King's Landing.
There is also an animated drama series in very early development, though there's no word on what that show would actually look like.
Suffice it to say, season eight may never get remade, but winter may always be coming.