After becoming so invested in the story and characters, it's hard to move on from Game
of Thrones.
But the producers, writers, and actors behind the series have left Westeros behind for new
projects, and it looks like there's no going back.
Here's why you shouldn't expect a Game of Thrones sequel anytime soon.
Ready for a season nine of Game of Thrones?
What about a tenth?
HBO President of Programming Casey Bloys is on record as having been willing to back many
more seasons of the smash hit series.
But instead of forcing the show to continue indefinitely, he allowed the creative team
to make the ultimate decision regarding when it would end.
Apparently, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss knew how they wanted the ending
to go for a long time, and Bloys let them wrap things up on their terms.
And that ending, it seems, is pretty definitive.
When asked about potential sequel series that may be in the works, Bloys told The Hollywood
Reporter:
"Nope, nope, nope.
No.
Part of it is, I do want this show...to be its own thing.
I don't want to take characters from this world that they did beautifully and put them
off into another world with someone else creating it."
In other words, don't hold out hope for that Arya Goes West spinoff.
Author George R.R. Martin is supposed to be working diligently on The Winds of Winter,
but he's also found time to publish several books plotting out hundreds of years of Westerosi
history.
There is a wealth of material set in the past, and HBO has flirted with adapting more than
a few stories for television.
"If we forget where we've been, what we've done, we're not men anymore.
We're just animals."
Of the possible projects, one prequel series is definitely moving ahead with a pilot being
filmed and an announced cast list that includes Naomi Watts and Josh Whitehouse.
The as-yet unnamed prequel series will take place thousands of years before the events
of Game of Thrones as it chronicles the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into
its darkest hour.
There's little word on the other projects in development, which may well never come
to fruition.
But if one spinoff proves successful, chances are more will follow.
Further prequels could follow the events of Martin's Fire & Blood, which details how King
Aegon the Dragon conquered Westeros with his royal sisters.
Another prequel series could also adapt some of the tales collected in the short story
volume A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which follow a towering hedge knight named Duncan,
who's an ancestor of Brienne of Tarth, travelling with and defending a little Targaryen prince
by the name of Aegon V, or simply "Egg."
There's still more material in Westeros' history that seems perfect for television: the Blackfyre
Rebellions, the Targaryen civil war, the dark tale of the Night's King.
And that's just events from Westeros.
Essos has a long and storied history too.
When it comes to stories set in the past, Martin has given HBO quite a bit to work with.
Game of Thrones viewers became accustomed to the visual splendor of each episode over
the course of eight seasons.
Each episode is like its own full-fledged film, brought to life with reality-defying
special effects, lavish costuming, sets built to scale, and massive casts of extras.
As you might imagine, filming a season's worth of small movies can get pretty expensive.
The final season reportedly cost an estimated $15 million per episode.
It takes a lot of money to make dragons fly, direwolves growl, and wights reanimate.
HBO can afford to make entire series for $15 million rather than shelling out $15 million
for a single episode.
Another Game of Thrones-scale series, especially one that brought back the same increasingly-expensive
cast members, might be a bit too much of a financial burden to be worth mounting.
"It wasn't just about the money, was it?
Was it?…Was it?"
As the final credits roll on Game of Thrones, a new era begins.
High fantasy has proven itself to be extremely profitable, so HBO and the BBC have teamed
up to make another fantasy show based on a beloved book series: His Dark Materials.
Political struggles?
Check.
Mysterious powers?
Check.
CGI animals?
Check.
It isn't a Game of Thrones sequel, but it may satisfy some of the same viewers who tuned
in to watch the fantasy unfold.
Plus, if you're tired of fantasy lands, there are plenty of other shows that HBO has cooking
that explore different genres.
Westworld has another season on the way, for those of the convoluted sci-fi loving persuasion.
Fans of superheroes and contemplative graphic novels can rejoice in the upcoming premiere
of the Watchmen adaptation.
Jordan Peele and JJ Abrams are producing Lovecraft Country, a horror drama that's almost guaranteed
to be a hit.
Even now that we're done watching Thrones, there are plenty of shows on the way that
will make your HBO subscription worth it.
Even before the dust settled on Game of Thrones, showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff set
their sights on a galaxy far, far away.
Disney CEO Bob Iger has confirmed that after the twin suns set on the current trilogy of
Star Wars films, Benioff and Weiss will be working on the next series of films, a trilogy
telling a new story separate from the Skywalker saga.
The first of the three films is due at the end of 2022, giving audiences plenty of time
to forget how upset they were at the final Game of Thrones season.
With two of the largest creative engines for Game of Thrones headed to space, it doesn't
seem like a Thrones sequel is in the cards, at least not from them.
Game of Thrones has changed television as we know it.
It's no longer satisfactory for shows to be small with dedicated followings.
Every show wants to be a blockbuster, and in the coming years, there will be no limit
to the number of titles seeking to fill the void that the end of Game of Thrones has left
in our hearts.
His Dark Materials isn't the only fantasy adaptation on the table.
Netflix is launching a series based on The Witcher series of books, which has previously
been adapted into a very successful video game franchise.
Amazon reportedly paid close to $250 million for a Lord of the Rings prequel series.
Meanwhile, Netflix is also planning a live-action version of the beloved animated series Avatar:
The Last Airbender.
Every major company is trying to replicate the GoT success, and with a competition that
crowded, it's unlikely that a Game of Thrones sequel would really stand out.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite shows are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.