‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoffs: What We Know (and Want)
Season 7 of Game of Thrones will see worlds collide, as Daenerys Targaryen arrives in Westeros to stake a claim to the Iron Throne. She’ll have to wrest it from Cersei Lannister’s cold, scheming fingers, though. And then there are the Starks, who have finally returned to and regained their family seat in Winterfell. Of course, the greatest threat of all is waiting on the other side of the Wall — the Night King and his army of White Walkers.
As viewers count down the days until the HBO drama’s seventh-season premiere on July 16, Yahoo TV is launching our official countdown: #GoTIsComing. Check back here every day as we give updates on all of your favorite characters, details on an important new location, and a travel guide to the locations of Westeros. So pull on a thick coat and get ready for a long and brutal winter.
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Winter is finally here on Game of Thrones, but HBO is hoping for a spring awakening.
The network is developing at least four, possibly five potential spinoffs of the hit fantasy drama. Book author George R.R. Martin is involved with all the projects, which have been assigned to writers Max Borenstein (Kong: Skull Island), Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class), Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential), and Carly Wray (Mad Men).
On his blog, Martin himself revealed there’s a fifth, unnamed writer working on a concept.
So what do we know about these potential spinoffs?
1. They’re about nobody we’ve met.
Martin blogged that the spinoffs are all prequels and would feature brand-new characters who have not been introduced in Game of Thrones. “All of you who were hoping for the further adventures of Hot Pie are doomed to disappointment,” Martin joked.
2. They’re not about Robert’s Rebellion.
Although fans are clamoring for a prequel set in the years immediately preceding the books — starting with Lyanna Stark’s abduction — Martin has ruled that out.
He wrote that by the end of his book series, “you will know every important thing that happened in Robert’s Rebellion. There would be no surprises or revelations left in such a show, just the acting out of conflicts whose resolutions you already know.”
3. They’re not about Dunk & Egg.
Dunk & Egg is a series of novellas that are prequels to Martin’s novels. They center on Ser Duncan the Tall, a legendary Kingsguard member, and his squire, Egg, who would go on to become King Aegon V Targaryen.
Martin said he wants to write seven to 10 more novellas. “We all know how slow I am, and how fast a television show can move. I don’t want to repeat what happened with Game of Thrones itself, where the show gets ahead of the books.”
So what could the spinoffs be about? Here are some of our ideas:
1. Aegon’s Conquest
Set some 280 years before the events of Robert’s Rebellion, the story would explore how the Targaryens conquered Westeros and united it under their rule. This spinoff would have it all: battles, dragons, politics, and inappropriate relationships (Aegon had two sister-wives).
2. Dance of the Dragons
Dragons fighting dragons, you guys! This spinoff would be set about 150 years before the events of Robert’s Rebellion, during the civil war between two Targaryen siblings over the Iron Throne. Martin wrote a novella, The Princess and the Queen, with a historical account of this war. And while he ruled out adapting Dunk & Egg, he did not say a word about any other novellas.
3. Braavos
There’s a lot going on in the Free City — the Iron Bank is there, the Faceless Men are based there, and it’s teeming with people from different cultures. Oh, and there’s a decent theater troupe. This could be a coming-of-age, “little fish in a big pond” drama, as a young waif learns to navigate Braavosi life.
4. The Dothraki
They have a fascinating, complex culture that the show has barely scratched the surface of. This spinoff could explore how the Dothraki came to be, how their society was organized, and what life is like in different khalasars.
5. Upstairs, downstairs
Almost all the major characters on Game of Thrones are royalty or nobles. Servants are seen but rarely heard from. This could be a sort of Game of Thrones meets Downton Abbey drama, with a focus on all those maids, grooms, and cooks who power a castle like Winterfell.
Game of Thrones Season 7 premieres Sunday, July 16, at 9 p.m. on HBO.
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