Few shows engulfed the zeitgeist quite like HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
Based on the fantasy novel “A Song of Ice and Fire” by George R.R. Martin (more on him shortly), the original show debuted in 2011 and swiftly became an iconic television show in the same veins as “Band of Brothers,” “Lost” and “The Office.”
In other words, it was one of those shows that was appointment viewing, if only so you wouldn’t be completely lost in the midst of water cooler talk.
While “Game of Thrones” became a cultural force during its eight-year, 73-episode run, most fans would also likely agree that the quality of the show took a stark drop once it outpaced the source material it was based on.
For the unaware: Martin’s books are not finished.
In fact, it’s almost become a running meme of a joke about how long it’s taken for him to produce the sixth novel of the franchise, “The Winds of Winter.” The last book, “A Dance with Dragons” came out in 2011, for a frame of reference.
And once “Game of Thrones” outpaced the written source material, the show steadily declined in quality, right up until the generally poorly received final season of the show.
Given that “Game of Thrones,” for all of its cultural heft and cachet, went out with more a whimper than a bang (and to be clear, the show, as a whole, is still very well-produced) many fans were okay with the series laying dormant for a while, this writer included.
Well, Hollywood apparently abhors under-saturation, and it wasn’t long before several spinoff ideas and pitches began coming to public light.
Are you a fan of “Game of Thrones?”
As The Hollywood Reporter noted, one such spinoff, titled “Bloodmoon,” had a $30 million pilot filmed — only to see the show scrapped.
“House of the Dragon,” yet another Game of Thrones spinoff, did see the light of day in 2022 and was largely well-regarded, with strong performances from its actors.
This writer agrees that “House of the Dragon” was well-made and captured a lot of what made the original “Game of Thrones” saga so enthralling (political intrigue, family dynamics and gory violence).
But I also generally agree with the reviewers who, while admitting the show was well done, couldn’t shake the feeling that the show just wasn’t that necessary.
It was akin to being served the most tantalizing second dessert course known to man: Sure, it’s delicious, but do you really need it?
Now, less than two years removed from the conclusion of the inaugural season of “House of the Dragon” (and a second season looming), reports have emerged that yet another “Thrones” spinoff title is in the works.
In an exclusive from THR, the outlet revealed that HBO was partnering with “The Batman Part II” co-writer Mattson Tomlin to work on a script for a tentatively titled spinoff show called “Aegon’s Conquest.”
Curiously, per THR, this isn’t some far-flung movie in the distant past or future, exploring a different time in the expansive fictional history of Westeros (the continent that stages the majority of these high-fantasy hijinks).
No, “Aegon’s Conquest” is “basically a direct prequel” to “House of the Dragon.”
If that’s the case, it’ll be hard to shake the feeling that “Aegon’s Conquest” is just an extension of “House of the Dragon”… which already felt a tad superfluous to begin with.
And again, this is all coming from a “Game of Thrones” fan.
“Aegon’s Conquest” does not have any concrete plans, as it appears to be in the most embryonic of stages.
But the second season of “House of the Dragon” is slated to debut in Summer 2024, and should be a fascinating litmus test for just how oversaturated the franchise is to fans.
