All 14 ‘Game of Thrones’ Successors HBO Greenlit, Shelved, or Ghosted
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An immersive fantasy story of epic proportions that hooked audiences in with its rich and complex characters, its volatile and violent unpredictability, and the sheer gravitas of its production value and ambition, Game of Thrones endures as one of the most defining titles in television history six years on from its contentious conclusion. With audiences still expressing interest in the intrigue and majesty of the story world, it is little surprise that HBO is actively striving to expand on the series with a number of spin-offs.
House of the Dragon is already a monumental success in this regard, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set to be the second spin-off, but there are plenty of other projects that the network has pondered over the years. Ranging from series that seem to be stranded in development, to potential shows that seem to be evolving at a rapid rate, and even to a couple of canceled titles, this is every known Game of Thrones spin-off HBO has considered.
14
‘House of the Dragon’ (2022–)
Status: Renewed for Seasons 3 and 4
With its instant success in 2022, House of the Dragon proved that audience interest in the realm of Westeros hadn’t been annihilated along with King’s Landing in Game of Thrones’ contentious final season. Set almost 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the prequel series depicts the conflict known as the “Dance of the Dragons,” a Targaryen war for succession that erupts in the aftermath of King Viserys I Targaryen’s (Paddy Considine) death.
Maintaining the intoxicating sense of court intrigue and political savviness, and the unpredictable outbursts of devastating violence, House of the Dragons successfully builds upon the appeal of its predecessor, adding even more dragons into the fray and using its more contained focus to explore its central characters in tremendous depth. The series has been renewed for a further two seasons, with showrunner Ryan Condal confirming HotD will conclude with its fourth season.
13
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ (2026–)
Status: In Post-Production
The second TV spin-off to come to fruition, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set to follow the example of House of the Dragon in immersing Game of Thrones fans in a different chapter of the story world’s history. Based on George R. R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novella, the series will be set 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones, following two unlikely heroes traversing through a Targaryen-ruled Westeros.
HBO announced the series was in development back in January 2021, while an official order was issued by the production company in April 2023 with Ira Parker—who was a writer on House of the Dragon—attached as the series co-creator (along with Martin). While HBO has delayed A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms from its originally slated 2025 release, it is still arriving in the near future, with Variety determining it will premiere early in 2026.
12
Aegon’s Conquest
Status: In Development
The dramatization of the story of Aegon’s conquest of Westeros stands as one of the most anticipated possibilities in Game of Thrones’ pantheon of projects. The story itself is an epic of ambition and power, following Aegon I Targaryen as he and his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, fight to conquer and unite all of Westeros beneath the Targaryen banner. It is a significant chapter in the history of the story world, with the uniting of six of the seven kingdoms establishing the start of the Targaryen dynasty and making Aegon the first King of the Andals, the Rhyonar, and the First Men.
Developments in the handling of a potential series have given cause for excitement as well, with Mattson Tomlin—an uncredited script supervisor on The Batman who is now the co-writer of The Batman Part II alongside Matt Reeves—attached to the title. Granted, just because a series is in development is no guarantee that it will come to fruition, but a recent update from Tomlin has imbued fans with hope that Aegon’s Conquest could be entering production in the near future.
11
The Golden Empire
Status: In Development
For a number of years now, the medium of animation has been teased as a possible avenue for several Game of Thrones spin-off projects. This approach is probably most intrinsically linked with the speculation surrounding a possible exploration of the ancient empire of Yi Ti in a series called The Golden Empire. Known for its wealth, elaborate cities, and the intricacies of its politics, the region is located in the far east of Essos and was largely inspired by Imperial China.
With a prospective series likely to focus on a period of internal power struggles being compounded by raids from external forces, the story is rife with all the high-stakes drama, political maneuvering, and betrayal that made Game of Thrones such compelling viewing. Furthermore, its setting in Essos rather than Westeros could bring a fresh flavor to the growing television universe, while the possibility of doing something invigorating with animation beckons as well. The series is technically still in development, but no official update has been given about this animated Game of Thrones show since early in 2024. While this doesn’t mean it has been ghosted, fans excited about any news on a possible release may be left waiting for quite some time.
10
Ten Thousand Ships
Status: In Development
A distant prequel that was one of several initial projects pitched when HBO commissioned writers back in 2017, looking for spin-off possibilities, Ten Thousand Ships seemed dead in the water when writer Brian Helgeland explained why the series wasn’t picked up in an interview with Inverse in April 2024. However, just a couple of months later, Variety noted hope for the series was re-ignited when George R. R. Martin discussed that work on a new pilot was underway, with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eboni Booth involved.
Set 1,000 years before Game of Thrones, the series would follow the legendary warrior queen Princess Nymeria as she leads the Rhoynar in exodus in the aftermath of their defeat at the hands of the Valyrian Freehold, leading to their eventual settlement in Dorne. While the production of a story set almost entirely on a nomadic raft city traversing the sea would cost a fortune, it is clearly intriguing and would allow for a new perspective on Westeros, completely detached from the events of Game of Thrones. As it stands, Ten Thousand Ships has been revived and is still in development, though no official update has been given since June 2024.
9
Bloodmoon
Status: Canceled
Given that many of the inactive and abandoned possible spin-off series are considered “shelved” rather than canceled, Bloodmoon is something of a rarity in that it has been conclusively discarded by HBO. The irony in this is that no other series—save for the two that are in production—has gotten so close to becoming a reality. Created by Jane Goldman and George R. R. Martin, a pilot episode that cost HBO $30 million (according to IGN) was filmed starring Naomi Watts, and yet the production house axed the series soon after.
In 2022, The Hollywood Reporter covered Robert Greenblatt’s (the chairman of HBO’s parent company WarnerMedia when the decision was made) views on the pilot, highlighting the praise he had for its production quality, but quoting him as saying “it didn’t have that depth and richness that the original series’ pilot did.” Also referred to as ‘The Long Night’—especially by George R. R. Martin—the series was set to explore the origin of the White Walkers during the Age of Heroes, an era that was thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones.
8
Empire of Ash
Status: Ghosted
The most speculative and dubious of Game of Thrones’ supposed spin-offs, Empire of Ash was the alleged working title of a series that stemmed from an unverified leak of a report that was seen on Game of Thrones‘ wiki. Needless to say, this series may never have existed, but there is some evidence to support that it was in consideration for a time, with Max Borenstein’s pitch—one of the five commissioned projects from 2017—focusing on the Doom of Valyria (as reported by The Hollywood Reporter), which many believe the title Empire of Ash may have been in reference to.
Were this speculation to be true, then Empire of Ash would have examined how a brutal series of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis reduced the might of Valyria to a smoldering ruin, one that created the Smoking Sea and killed the city’s people and dragons. With an integral part of the legend surrounding the cataclysmic event being the deliberation over what exactly caused it, a series examining the catastrophe would have had to tread carefully in order to bring depth and resonance to the story while maintaining an air of mysticism and ambiguity. As it stands, no official word has ever been given on a spin-off bearing the title Empire of Ash.
7
Nine Voyages
Status: In Development
While it didn’t start off as such, Nine Voyages is the second possible foray into animation that HBO has put particular attention into developing. Initially planned as a live-action series, IGN reported that HBO pivoted to animation to continue developing the series, given growing budgetary concerns. In a blog post, George R. R. Martin welcomed this transition, commenting, “There’s a whole world out there. And we have a lot better chance of showing it all with animation.”
Also speculatively titled “The Sea Snake” at some stages of its production, the series is set to follow the legendary voyages of Corlys Velaryon (played by Steve Toussaint in House of the Dragon). While the series is yet to be officially greenlit by HBO, the steady influx of updates and information is encouraging, as is the fact that Bruno Heller (creator of HBO’s historical epic Rome) is heavily involved in its development.
6
Flea Bottom
Status: Canceled
While it was one of three potential spin-offs that were announced to have entered development in March 2021, Flea Bottom never made it far, with The Hollywood Reporter revealing development of the series had been abandoned in July of the same year. It seems the series never made it past the earliest phases of planning, with no showrunner ever being attached and no casting announcements being made.
While even the most basic details about a story or core characters are practically non-existent, the series would clearly have been set in the titular slum of King’s Landing, a winding maze of moral depravity and narrow alleyways. Given Flea Bottom is the birthplace of characters like Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) and Gendry Baratheon (Joe Dempsie), some believe it could have been a gritty, street-level origin series, but all speculation is hearsay, and it seems even HBO never developed any cohesive idea for the potential series beyond using it as a possible setting.
5
‘Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series’ (2014)
Status: Greenlit
It may be something of a technicality, but the first officially licensed HBO spin-off of Game of Thrones wasn’t through the medium of television, but rather came in the form of the video game Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series. Featuring Telltale Games’ trademark approach that enables players to make decisions that impact the evolution of the story, the six-episode game follows several dispersed members of House Forrester, loyal bannermen to House Stark, in the aftermath of the Red Wedding as they scramble to protect themselves and their ancestral home of Ironrath from enemy advances.
The video game received positive reviews upon release and stands as a sneakily brilliant example of spin-off storytelling as it focuses on House Forrester—which had the briefest of mentions in Martin’s novels—and realizes an immersive and intense story that smoothly folds into what players had seen in the series. Featuring voice acting from Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Natalie Dormer, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, and Iwan Rheon in their respective roles, it was an inviting experience for gamers who were fans of the show. Unfortunately, the closure of Telltale Games effectively killed plans for a Season 2, but Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series remains an underappreciated spin-off of the original series that features all of its unpredictability, brutality, and character-driven drama.
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