HBO is not ready to move on from Game of Thrones yet, with a whopping nine spin-offs in varying stages of development, including this summer’s House of the Dragon and a newly announced Jon Snow-related series.
Ranging from live-action series, animated adventures, and even a stage production, Game of Thrones fans can expect everything from prequels to sequels and, well, everything between.
That said, just because a production is in development, it doesn’t guarantee that it will ever make it to the screen. A pilot was shot for an untitled prequel series in 2019, costing an eye-watering $30 million for just one episode, but the planned series ended up cancelled.
These upcoming spin-offs will surface on HBO Max where the streaming service is available around the world, and local networks – Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK – where it has yet to land its longboats.
Here’s the list of all the Game of Thrones spin-offs that may just be pitching up in your living room one day soon.
House of the Dragon
Out of the many Game of Thrones spin-offs in various stages of development, this is the only one that we have concrete info on and will be the first to hit screens. It’s based on George RR Martin’s ‘Fire & Blood’ book and will tell the story of the Targaryen clan civil war known as ‘the dance of the Dragons’. House of the Dragon kicks off on August 22, with new episodes landing weekly. Here’s everything we know about it so far.
The Jon Snow spin-off
According to The Hollywood Reporter – and freshly confirmed by Emilia Clarke – Kit Harington is planning to reprise his role as Jon Snow in a new HBO series. It’s expected to follow the fan-favourite character after the events of the divisive Game of Thrones finale.
Hasty spoiler warning but in season eight, Snow was still digesting the fact that his real name was Aegon Targaryen and that he was a possible heir to the Iron Throne. It all ended with him heading back north of the wall to pick up his simpler past life with the Wildlings. While all other known Game of Thrones spin-off series in development are prequels, this would be the first and only (so far) to pick up events from the original show, opening doors to potential cameos from the likes of Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie).
‘It’s been created by Kit, as far as I can understand,’ Clarke tells the BBC, ‘so he’s in it from the ground up. So what you will be watching, hopefully, if it happens, is certified by Kit Harington.’
Tales of Dunk and Egg
HBO is also developing a series based on three novellas in the Tales of Dunk and Egg series: The Hedge Knight, The Sworn Sword, and The Mystery Knight. Also written by Martin, the books were originally published between 1998 and 2010, and were repackaged into a complete 2015 collection known as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
The series will follow the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (Dunk) and a young Aegon V Targaryen (Egg), and is set 90 years prior to the events of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ – the book series that inspired the majority of Game of Thrones. Variety reports that screenwriter Steve Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness) is writing the script.
Sea Snake
Sea Snake will serve as a direct prequel to the upcoming House of the Dragon series, and follows the adventures of a young Corlys Velaryon, with actor Steve Toussaint set to reprise his role from House of the Dragon. Known as the finest sea-farer in the land, Velaryon’s adventures saw him traverse Westeros and the other three continents of the known world and become incredibly wealthy.
10,000 Ships
Another seafaring spin-off, this series will be set a thousand years before the events of Game of Thrones. If it happens, 10,000 Ships will follow warrior queen Nymeria, who crossed into Dorne from Essos, fleeing the dragonlords of Valyria. After arriving in their place of sanctuary, Nymeria ordered all of her ships to be burned so that no cowards could slink back to their lost homeland. Let’s hope she has some wildfire handy.
The Game of Thrones animated series
Fans of animation, rejoice! There’s not just one, or two, but three Game of Thrones animated series in development. One of the animated series will explore the Golden Empire of Ti Ti, a territory never seen on the original series and thought to be inspired by Imperial China. The other two animated spin-off series remain shrouded in mystery, with little to nothing known of their plot. All three animated series are thought to be aimed at an adult audience and will mirror the style of the Game of Thrones live-action series.
The Game of Thrones play
Perhaps the most unexpected of all the Game of Thrones spin-offs is a stage production set to open in 2023. George RR Martin has expressed his wish for the play to hit venues on Broadway, London’s West End and in Australia.
While no casting has been announced, a press release revealed some plot points. It reads: ‘Set at a pivotal moment in the history of the series, the play will for the first time take audiences deeper behind the scenes of a landmark event that previously was shrouded in mystery.’
It’s also been confirmed that the production will feature ‘many of the most iconic and well-known characters’ from the Game of Thrones TV series.
Producers have also promised that the stage production will reveal secrets that have only been hinted at in TV and books until now.
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