In true Game of Thrones fashion, one potential spinoff has already been killed

By Chris Gates Published April 29, 2019

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Not every big casualty in the Game of Thrones universe came during the Battle of Winterfell. Bryan Cogman, a writer and director on HBO’s hit fantasy series, revealed that the Game of Thrones prequel that he developed with author George R. R. Martin would not be going forward.

“My prequel show is not happening and will not happen,” Cogman told The Hollywood Reporter. “HBO decided to go a different way.” HBO asked Cogman to develop a Game of Thrones successor in 2017.

Recommended Videos

Instead, HBO is pushing ahead with an entirely different prequel series from Martin and writer Jane Goldman. That show, which has already cast Naomi Watts and Josh Whitehouse in lead roles, will be set thousands of years before Game of Thrones and will reveal the “horrifying secrets of Westeros’ history” and “the true origin of the White Walkers.” Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will not be involved with the series.

Cogman’s canceled series and Goldman’s prequel are two of five Game of Thrones spinoffs that HBO commissioned in anticipation of the flagship series’ eighth and final season. Even then, Martin warned that not all of the shows would see the light of day. “Decades of experience in television and film have taught me that nothing is ever really certain,” Martin wrote, “but I do think it’s very unlikely that we’ll be getting four (or five) series.”

It is easy to understand why HBO would be eager to get more Game of Thrones in production. The show has been a massive success for the premium network, winning 38 Emmy awards — a record for a single series — and generating record-setting social media buzz (pirates seem to like it, too). It’ i also ending after its eighth season, which airs in just a few weeks.

One Game of Thrones follow-up has already filmed. A reunion special featuring many of the actors who appeared on the show, including season 1 fatality Sean Bean, was taped in Belfast, Ireland, in 2018. The special is expected to be released as an exclusive bonus feature in the Game of Thrones season 8 DVD and Blu-ray collections.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

<a href="https://kecsukorejo.kendalkab.go.id/asset/-/situs-slot-resmi/">situs slot resmi</a>

Entertainment

House of the Dragon’s latest episode foreshadows one major battle

Daemon stands with his sword at the ready in House of the Dragon season 2.

In the latest episode of HBO's House of the Dragon, Daemon Targaryen's (Matt Smith) taking of Harrenhal doesn't go exactly as he planned. He successfully takes the castle, but there's little excitement to be found in his conquest. He arrives atop the cursed fortress astride his dragon, Caraxes, only to find the castle largely deserted -- save for a few workers and its castellan, Lord Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale), who immediately surrenders Harrenhal to Daemon without protest.

While still at Harrenhal, Daemon experiences an unsettling vision. Drawn to a fire-lit room by the sound of a distant woman's hums, Daemon eventually finds himself face to face again with a younger version of Rhaenyra (returning season 1 star Milly Alcock). "Always coming and going, aren't you? And I have to clean up afterwards," Rhaenyra remarks, all while sewing the head of Prince Jaehaerys, the young boy who was decapitated as a result of Daemon's orders in the House of the Dragon season 2 premiere, back onto his body.

Computing

Acer has 3 new OLED gaming monitors, including one with a 480Hz refresh rate

The Acer Predator X34 X5 monitor over a light blue background.

Acer just opened up its metaphorical bag of goodies at Computex 2024, and a whole lot of monitors fell right out. There's a lot to sink your teeth into, but we've got our eyes on the OLED models -- one of them more than the others.

The Predator X27 F3 combines a WQHD OLED display with a 480Hz refresh rate, coming close to the best of both worlds for gamers. You won't have to choose between crisp visuals and high refresh rates here. However, its price is high enough to make your eyes water just as much as the lightning-fast gameplay might.

Entertainment

Game of Thrones’ disappointing finale lost sight of what made the series so great

Daenerys stands above the Unsullied in the Game of Thrones finale.

Ending a TV show well is an infamously hard thing to do. Plenty of great, talented writers have tried and failed over the years, and even more fans have been left disappointed as their favorite shows failed to stick the landing. While bad final episodes have been a part of the TV landscape for decades, no series finale in modern memory has been as universally and passionately detested as Game of Thrones'.

After entertaining millions of viewers for eight years, the HBO drama delivered a final trio of rushed, ham-fisted episodes in May 2019 that brought its story to an incredibly disappointing, unearned conclusion. The show that had long held the TV crown subsequently faded from the world's pop cultural conversations — proving that sometimes the destination is as important as the journey. Many longtime fans seemingly pushed Game of Thrones from their minds altogether, while others decided to place all their hopes for a better ending on the two remaining Song of Ice and Fire books that author George R. R. Martin still hasn't published.