At this point, it’s safe to say that the House of the Dragon gamble paid off for HBO, as the series has put up big numbers, amassed a Thrones-similar passionate fanbase already, and as such, has been renewed for season 2.
But with George RR Martin talking about going the Star Wars or Marvel route with the Game of Thrones/ASOIAF universe, what does House of the Dragon’s success mean for what’s next?
Well, before this HBO has been developing a number of Game of Thrones spin-offs and prequels, including at least one that died an early death already, which starred Naomi Watts and was ultimately scrapped despite being pretty far along in production. It was replaced by House of the Dragon, and here we are, three years later.
But, there are many more in the works. Not all will make it to air, and even George RR Martin knows that, but we have:
The Sea Snake/Nine Voyages – Yes, this would star House of the Dragon’s Corlys Velaryon, but without more details, we don’t know if this would star Steve Toussaint from HotD, or if it might be a prequel about his younger years.
Ten Thousand Ships – Now we go way, way back in time for a concept that would follow Princess Nymeria, yes, who Arya named her wolf after, which would center on events that take place 1,000 years before the original show. The name of the show is about a military maneuver that Nymeria executed where she ordered all her ships to be burned so she could never turn back on her march toward conquest. This one seems pretty far along, and may be a top contender for something that actually makes it to series.
The Tales of Dunk And Egg – Moving closer to the main show, Dunk and Egg would be 90 years before Thrones, and focuses on Ser Duncan the Tall and Aegon V Targaryen in his youth, with season one focused on adapted the Hedge Knight novella. Martin has previously said that this story and its characters in particular mean a lot to him, and again, this one may have promise.
The Golden Empire – This one is actually an animated series set in Yi Ti, which is over in Essos. Not a lot of detail here other than Martin thinks the animation is beautiful and there’s a “great young writer” working on it.
Flea Bottom – This appears to be another dead end, a canceled series about Flea Bottom in King’s Landing, which may have starred Davos Seaworth. Does not appear to be moving forward.
Snow – This is perhaps the most curious one on the list, a Jon Snow spin-off, meaning one that would be the only true sequel series to Game of Thrones itself, taking place after the season 8 finale. This project has been developed and pitched by Kit Harrington himself, rather than George RR Martin, though Martin has expressed interest in the idea. This might be the biggest risk for HBO to take on, given the end of Thrones, and how it may be safer to focus on standalone stories with brand new characters, but we’ll see if they give Harrington another shot here.
From the list, it seems like Ten Thousand Ships and Dunk and Egg are likely to be the ones that actually make it out and potentially have the biggest impact. We don’t actually know the long term plans for House of the Dragon past its season 2 renewal, and how long it plans to go with its slate of Targaryens. But I would also not be shocked to see other series on this list killed off before they get anywhere. HBO has to choose carefully, as they’ve clearly done with House of the Dragon here.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2022/09/06/with-house-of-the-dragon-a-hit-here-are-the-other-thrones-spin-offs-hbo-is-working-on/