Since Game of Thrones ended, HBO has been quick to expand George R.R. Martin’s universe with several spinoffs. House of the Dragon was a hit, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set to drop in 2026, others are still cooking, and some got scrapped before they even had a chance. But while the show (and HOTD) focused on kings, dragons, and political drama, the next big thing is basically staring everyone in the face.
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The Faceless Men are hands down one of the most fascinating groups in the entire Westeros and Essos universe. Fans have been into the idea for ages, the source material is incredibly rich, and the storytelling potential is obvious. The wildest part? Simply that HBO still hasn’t pulled the trigger. But what’s not to like? Born in Old Valyria thanks to a slave who saw death as a way out, they grew into a secret sect of religious assassins in Braavos who serve the god of many faces.
All of that is already more interesting than half the storylines Game of Thrones tried to force in its later seasons. And yet, when the show had the perfect chance to dig into this group through Arya’s (Maisie Williams) storyline, the ball was well and truly dropped. The temple felt like set dressing, the rituals got watered down (almost to a laughable level), and the mysticism became just background noise for another hero’s journey. It felt lazy, like they didn’t trust the audience to handle something deeper.
Sure, Jaqen pulled off some super precise, almost otherworldly killings, and later shows he can literally change his face, but it never went far enough. The show never really got into where that power came from, how the Faceless Men operate, or what it really means to join them. It just throws out the idea that there’s some strict code and deeper system behind it all, to create temporary drama in Arya’s story. Jaqen’s face change is played like a nice special effect, but in the original material, it has a lot more weight: memory transfer, giving up your identity, and being fully devoted to the god of many faces. None of that makes it into the show. Instead, it get reduced to just another plot device. It remains a huge missed opportunity.
That’s exactly why a spinoff focused on the Faceless Men would be the smartest (and probably boldest) move HBO could make right now. This is a group that gives up who they are, uses the faces of the dead to become someone else, and believes death is actually a sacred gift. Just imagine the moral and philosophical questions that could come out of that – not to mention the chance for some serious world-building. A show like this could finally break away from the tired “who gets the throne” formula that’s been done to death. For viewers craving something more serious and more thoughtful, this would hit the spot. Sure, battles and power struggles are fun, but this world can go way deeper – and it’s about time someone let it.
And it’s not like HBO hasn’t considered the idea before. There was talk of a show set in Braavos that might’ve involved the Faceless Men, but it got shelved. Just like Bloodmoon (the spinoff about the Long Night that got canned after a super expensive pilot), this idea died before it had a real shot. Are we to believe HBO are that risk averse? Dragons are a safe bet as they know people will tune in, but it’s the fresh and riskier ideas that could actually take the franchise to a whole new level. It’s already huge, but the crazy part is that it’s just scratching the surface of what it can be.
Plus, the fandom is already on board: there are Reddit threads, YouTube videos, TikToks, even petitions begging for a Faceless Men show. Some people have even pitched an anthology setup, where each season follows a different assassin on a new mission, in a different place and time. That would open up Essos, take us back to Valyria before it fell, or show us stories running alongside the main Game of Thrones plot. Besides, the show wouldn’t even need to rely on big-name characters. It could stand on its own, just based on the mood, the concept, and the guts to do something new.
And here’s the thing: a Faceless Men spinoff isn’t just the logical next step – it’s basically the only move that could still shock us. Dragons are cool, and they work, but why not seek something that flips the script, something that makes us rethink what this world is even about? The darker, more spiritual side of Martin’s universe is still relatively untouched. The Faceless Men have everything – mystery, danger, devotion, even a built-in fanbase. People are already sold. They just need the show to actually happen.
If HBO keeps ignoring this idea, they’ll be walking away from something huge. It’s time to explore what’s been stuck in the shadows – the myths, the secret groups, and the stuff no one really explains. A series about the Faceless Men wouldn’t just be amazing – it would be a statement. It would be a sign that Game of Thrones still has more to offer than just throne fights and fire-breathing dragons. More than anything, it would finally shift the focus to what lies beyond all of that. And that’s a story worth telling.
