The world George R.R. Martin created in his books A Song of Ice and Fire is ripe with potential Game of Thrones spin-offs and prequels, and it feels like we’ve only just started to scratch the surface of what’s possible.
Yes, we know Game of Thrones was one of the best TV series ever made, and House of the Dragon is shaping up to be pretty good as well, but there’s so much left to explore. So rather than make Game of Thrones season 9 or a Jon Snow spin-off where he pines after Daenerys Targaryen, we think HBO should go in another direction after House of the Dragon season 2.
Where exactly? Well, I’m glad you asked. As I see it, there are five possible ideas that Game of Thrones fans would love to see explored on the small screen. From the earliest days of the House of the Dragon, when the Targaryen family tree was just a sapling, to the lost history of the Seven Kingdoms, here are five new Game of Thrones spin-offs we want to see next.
Robert’s Rebellion
Considering how important it is to the events of Game of Thrones, the actual history of Robert’s Rebellion isn’t too well documented aside from some key events. We’d like to see the rebellion fleshed out a bit, so this prequel could be set just before the fall of House Targaryen when the Mad King still ruled Westeros and give us a look at what life was like for the great houses during that terrible time. It could then, in later seasons, move into the rebellion proper, where we see the fall of House Targaryen once and for all.
I’ll be honest: I want this season to happen most of all because Ned Stark might be my favorite character, and I’ve always been fascinated by his relationship with Robert Baratheon. The pair just seem so different in temperament, so I want to see what their bond looked like when they were at their closest.
While I could see HBO making this one eventually, the biggest problem it would have to overcome is finding two charismatic actors capable of replacing Sean Bean and Mark Addy (Two of the greatest members of the Game of Thrones cast) as Ned and Robert, respectively, and that’s going to be nearly impossible.
The Doom of Valyria
One of the most mysterious events in the history of Martin’s world, we’ve always been fascinated by the dragonlords of Old Valyria and the doom that destroyed their empire. In our feverish imagination, this series would begin when the Valyrian Freehold was at the height of its powers and give us a glimpse of what the world looked like when magic wasn’t just something in a maester’s book and dragons controlled the skies.
The show could follow Lord Aenar Targaryen (The first Targaryen we know of), who was forewarned of the doom by his daughter, Daenys the Dreamer, as he desperately tried to convince his fellow dragonlords about the danger ahead. Sounds pretty good, right? We certainly think there’s potential. However, there is one wrinkle in our hypothetical series…
Even the most talented of writers probably wouldn’t be able to milk many stories from the doom, so it would probably only work as a miniseries or maybe even a TV movie (if it’s good enough for The Walking Dead, it’s good enough for Game of Thrones).
Aegon’s Conquest
Everyone wants a show about Aegon the Conqueror, the first Targaryen king who forged the realm through force of will alone, and we’re no different. Aegon’s story is begging to be told, and it’s got all the ingredients that a great TV series needs: high stakes, the possibility of incredible action, and plenty of intrigue.
More than that, it means we’d finally see the greatest Targaryen dragon ever to terrorize the Seven Kingdoms, Balerion the Black Dread, in the flesh (we know we’ve seen his skull a few times at this point). Just imagine seeing the Field of Fire in live action. It would make the Battle of the Bastards look like little kids playing soldiers.
Honestly, we’re literally salivating like Manderly looking at a slice of lamprey pie at the thought of seeing Aegon take Westeros by storm, so hurry up and greenlight this, HBO.
Bloodraven
Of all the Targaryens Martin’s ever written about, none, and I mean none, are half as fascinating as Brynden Rivers, aka Bloodraven. Brynden was born the bastard son of the worst Taragrayen king ever, Aegon IV, and he cut a rather sinister figure at court. Many distrusted his motives and whispered he was a sorcerer behind his back.
While the truth of that is up for debate, we do know that he played a really active role in several world-shaking events, including the reign of Aegon the Unworthy, the Blackfyre Rebellions, and the Great Council of 233 AC, serving as a spymaster, general, and eventually even Hand of the King along the way.
While the events he lived through will provide some nice dramatic fodder, that’s not the real reason we want a Bloodraven show, though. No, we want a Bloodraven spin-off because he’s one of the most dynamic and complex characters in the entire saga of A Song of Ice and Fire, sometimes a hero, sometimes a villain, always a bastard. Come on, HBO, we know you’re desperate for another Daemon Targaryen, and he’s right here.
The Long Night
Maybe we’re just greedy, but we still really want to know what was going on with the White Walkers after Game of Thrones season 8 unceremoniously ended their storyline, and how better to tackle that story than showing us The Long Night? It could be a gripping war drama set during the darkest days in Westerosi history, and we could meet the legendary heroes who established the great houses of Westeros, like Bran the Builder, Lann the Clever, and even Azor Ahai.
There’s just one problem with this hypothetical series: it actually nearly happened. It was called Bloodmoon and was going to be set during the Age of Heroes, with Naomi Watts playing the unknown lead character. HBO even shot a pilot episode, but the reception was so bad that the execs decided not to move forward with the project. Yikes. Who knows, though, maybe if they take another crack at it, things will turn out better.
While we wait for HBO to realize how great our ideas are, why not check out some of the wonderful Game of Thrones content we’ve written on The Digital Fix, including our detailed guides to all the Game of Thrones dragons and the House of the Dragon cast?
We also got an AI to write the Jon Snow series, which is just as bad as you’d think, and have individual articles breaking down everything you need to know about all the major players in House of the Dragon, including Rhaenyra Targaryen, Aegon II Targaryen, and Alicent Hightower and more.