Every studio is looking for the next major franchise these days. With Disney’s utter domination with series like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, everybody else is scrambling to recreate the same kind of success with their own franchises and properties. Whether it be the MonsterVerse of characters like Godzilla and King Kong, or Marvel’s chief comic-book competitor DC, there have been other series to find success with the “cinematic universe” model, but there has yet to be any to really achieve the same consistent success as the likes of Disney’s cornerstone franchises. The concept of an interwoven universe of characters that jumps between films and TV is enticing, but it’s one that many different franchises have failed to succeed with.
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One series that seems primed to attempt to expand its horizons into an interconnected universe is the world of Westeros from Game of Thrones. The immense popularity of Game of Thrones in the 2010s cannot be overstated. The show was an international sensation, and it posted some of the biggest ratings for any television series in history. With that kind of success, it’s easy to see why HBO and Warner Bros. would want to continue the series in some form. But, with House of the Dragon premiering this year and many other different spin-offs shows in development, is there such a thing as too much Game of Thrones at once?
Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon
Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Game of Thrones certainly didn’t end on the best of notes. Many fans of the series were immensely disappointed with the final season (or two) of the show. With the shortened episode count and rushed storylines, what was once considered the best show on television quickly devolved into something that was widely criticized and divisive. After Game of Thrones concluded, there was a lot of talk about whether or not people would still be interested in any potential spin-offs. Many speculated that the final seasons of the series had dropped off so steeply in quality that viewers would not return for any future stories in Westeros. Game of Thrones certainly experienced a loss of momentum after its final season, but it was still to be seen if the brand was truly tainted forever.
Despite all of this, HBO was determined to revisit Westeros again. The first follow-up series to take form was a prequel series titled Bloodmoon (alternatively The Long Night). The series was set during the Age of Heroes, approximately 10,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones. It would have explored the first coming of the White Walkers into Westeros and the invasion of Westeros by the Andals from Essos. Tonally, it likely would have been very similar to the stories of Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch in the original series. Bloodmoon had a cast that included the likes of Naomi Watts, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Naomi Ackie. A pilot episode of the series was produced, but HBO ultimately decided not to move forward with the series because it didn’t live up to the expectations set for it.
However, then came House of the Dragon, the first Game of Thrones spin-off series to actually be released. While the prequel series isn’t quite as widely beloved as the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones, it has come pretty close to replicating that success. The show is one of the breakout television hits of 2022. It started off on a high note with its premiere in August and then continued to build week-to-week until it eventually delivered one of the best, and most-viewed, season finales of the year. Not only did it get people talking, it also brought in plenty of new viewers to the series, which helped boost its ratings to similar heights as its predecessor. Any thought that people wouldn’t be interested in returning to Westeros was long gone, and now the second season of House of the Dragon is one of the most hotly anticipated television events of the next couple of years.
Other Upcoming Spin-Offs
The success of House of the Dragon has proven that people are still interested in Westeros and the Game of Thrones brand. However, the show is far from the only basket that HBO has put its dragon eggs. There is a slew of other different Game of Thrones prequels and spin-offs in various stages of development. Some of them are directly tied to the core series or House of the Dragon, while others tell entirely separate stories at unexplored points in time. While none of these series have entered production or been given a release date, it’s clear that HBO envisions the Game of Thrones franchise being upheld by multiple pillar series at the same time.
One of the most buzzed-about shows is one centered on the fan-favorite character Jon Snow, played by Kit Harington. The series, tentatively titled Snow, would serve as a sequel series of sorts to the original Game of Thrones. It would follow Harington’s Snow in the events after the series finale, as he travels North of The Wall and begins his new life and adventures as the King Beyond the Wall. Harington is directly involved in the development of the series, and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin has confirmed his involvement as well. Fan reaction to the series’ announcement has been mixed, but returning to Game of Thrones in that direct fashion would certainly bring a lot of attention to the new show.
Another series that has gotten people talking is The Sea Snake, which would serve as a prequel to House of the Dragon centered on the character Corlys Velaryon, played by Steve Toussaint. In addition to that, there is also the series 10,000 Ships, which would tell the story of Princess Nymeria of Dorne throughout her sea-faring adventures and the founding of the Southern Westerosi kingdom. The Tales of Dunk and Egg is another series in development that would adapt several short stories Martin wrote about a young Aegon V Targaryen (known as “Egg”), the father of the Mad King and grandfather of Daenerys Targaryen. There are also several animated series in the works, one being The Golden Empire, which would explore the Yi Ti dynasty of Essos.
Multiple Shows at Once?
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
With at least three more seasons left in House of the Dragon, it’s easy to see that if HBO is already developing all of these different spin-off shows, they are going to start doubling up on Westeros television sooner or later. While it will likely never get to the point where multiple shows are airing in the same week (even Star Wars and the MCU avoid that), it’s more than feasible that multiple Game of Thrones-related shows will be in production and airing in the same time frame. For example, if Snow does manage to get off the ground in the next year or two, its first season would likely release around the same time as the third season of House of the Dragon. While there is certainly plenty of time in the year to release a couple of shows, with one running in the spring/summer and the other in the fall/winter, it’s also possible that HBO could end up running more than two Game of Thrones shows at a time, with the likes of The Sea Snake, 10,000 Ships and The Golden Empire all in different stages of development.
This could work from a story perspective for Game of Thrones, as there are many different peoples, places and times yet to be explored in the world of Ice and Fire. However, that doesn’t mean everything will be smooth sailing. There are plenty of causes for concern when it comes to expanding the Game of Thrones franchise so dramatically and so quickly. One of the most plain to see is that audiences have never had to balance different Game of Thrones shows at the same time. While there are plenty of characters and times to explore in Westeros and Essos, that doesn’t mean it should be done simultaneously. As excellent as House of the Dragon is, it does feel and look almost exactly like the original Game of Thrones series. By releasing a series like Snow or The Sea Snake in the same year as House of the Dragon, it risks confusing audiences with too many stories that essentially feel like the same thing.
While everyone wants to replicate the success of franchises like Star Wars and the MCU, even those series are beginning to suffer from overexposure. There are so many new shows and films from those franchises being released every year that they’ve started to see a down-tick in interest from project to project. People have become more than willing to skip the latest entry in the MCU. In order to sustain that level of output, each new entry needs to have its own distinct voice and tone to make it stand out from the pack. Thankfully, Star Wars seems to have recognized this with Andor, and Marvel is slowly getting there with the likes of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and She-Hulk (not that either of those were great, but they certainly had their own personality).
With just Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, the Westeros-based franchise has yet to prove that it can tackle different tones and stories. It can certainly tell one kind of story extremely well, but if that story begins to be doubled or tripled up on itself, then the whole thing risks collapse. So, with that, as tempting as it could be to make Game of Thrones into the next cinematic/streaming universe, it might be better for the long-term health of the franchise to pump the breaks and take things one story at a time.
