Fans first learned of the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon last year, with a new report from Variety confirming that the series will likely debut on HBO in 2022. The series is still in its early stages, but HBO programming chief Casey Bloys revealed that his “best guess” for the series debuting would be 2022. This will surely come as good news to audiences, as we had to say goodbye to the original HBO adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series of stories last year, as well as learning that another spinoff series, which filmed a pilot, wouldn’t be moving forward at the network.
When it was announced, House of the Dragon was described by HBO, “Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series, which is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen. Miguel Sapochnik will direct the pilot and additional episodes.”
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As far as why the already-filmed pilot never moved forward, Bloys pointed out how much invention was required for a series that was set for much earlier than Game of Thrones.
“That [prequel] was 8,000 years before the current show, so it required a lot more invention,” Bloys revealed to the outlet. “One of the benefits of House of the Dragon is there was a text from George and there was a little bit more of a roadmap. [Co-creator Jane Goldman’s prequel] did have more challenges in terms of establishing a world, but I think she handled that beautifully… there wasn’t one glaring thing.”
Despite the excitement surrounding the abandoned pilot, which starred Naomi Watts, Bloys couldn’t point out one factor in why they opted to not move forward with it.
“Pilots – sometimes they come together, sometimes they don’t,” Bloys confessed. “And I would say that was very much the case here. There’s nothing I would point to and say, ‘Oh, this was the problem.’”
Martin himself promised that, while he is excited for the new prequel, he won’t let that project deter him from completing the last two books in his A Song of Ice and Fire series.
“I expect to be involved in [the production of House of the Dragon] to some extent… and, who knows, if things work out, I may even be able to script a few episodes, as I did for the first four seasons of Game of Thrones,” Martin shared on his blog. “But… let me make this perfectly clear… I am not taking on any scripts until I have finished and delivered Winds of Winter. Winter is still coming, and Winds remains my priority, as much as I’d love to write an [episode] of House.”
Stay tuned for details on House of the Dragon.
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