YES! We finally have the news we’ve been waiting to hear for so long! (No, The Winds of Winter release date hasn’t been confirmed, sorry folks.) HBO will be developing four Game of Thrones spinoffs/prequel series. Let us all admit it. As much as we are looking forward to Season 7, there is also the looming sadness that the end of Game of Thrones is near. The closer we get to Season 7, the closer we get to the end. However, joy can now replace that sadness! Last week’s revelation from The Hollywood Reporter has ensured the long term future of George R.R. Martin’s world on our TV screens. So, from now on, we can continue to feed our impatience with no hint of remorse.
A Game of Thrones prequel series or spinoff has long been on the cards for HBO. In the world we live in today, there was no way they were not going to exploit the literary wealth, and financial wealth, of Martin’s universe. Yet now the question stands, what storylines or characters will these prequels follow? Considering the fact that none of us, Martin, Benioff and Weiss aside, know what will happen at the end of Game of Thrones, it’s difficult to guess at a potential series following the events of GOT. In that case, multiple prequel series are looking the most likely at the moment. However, this will probably change once the final episode of Game of Thrones airs. Anyway, without further babbling, here are four potential storylines from Westeros and Essos that the prequel series’s/spinoffs may explore.
(I know four seems like a strange number for a list article, but considering that HBO have confirmed four different spinoffs, I thought it might work on this one occasion. You feel me?)
1. Robert’s Rebellion
A while back, when news first broke that HBO were to begin discussions on a prequel series, I wrote a post outlining the 10 things we wanted to see in a prequel series based on Robert’s Rebellion. This is the most likely prequel series, since Ser Arthur Dayne, a young Ned Stark and Lyanna Stark have already been cast in GOT. A prequel series on Robert’s Rebellion, however, would not be as lengthy as GOT, considering we already know the story. To avoid this prequel series becoming like The Hobbit franchise, bloated with additional storylines, HBO may stick to Martin’s plot. However, the lure of extra money might change that. In any case, a prequel series on Robert’s Rebellion would be great to see. Any chance to witness Ser Arthur Dayne in combat once more.
2. The Doom of Valyria
Otherwise known as ‘The Doom’, the Doom of Valyria brought the great Valyrian empire, which had dominated Essos for thousands of years, to an end. ‘The Doom’ took place four hundred years before The War of the Five Kings. Whilst the exact cause is unknown, it is rumoured that ‘The Doom’ was the result of a volcanic eruption. As Tyrion quotes, ‘The flames that shot so high and hot that even dragons burned’. Following the supposed eruption, the sea consumed the rest of Valyria. A tsunami? A prequel series could focus on the Targaryens, the only Valyrian great house to survive ‘The Doom’. Though the Targaryens were already settled on Dragonstone at the time ‘The Doom’ occurred, a bit of creative license may come into play. A prequel series on The Doom of Valyria would have a certain Pompeii element to it, which would be really exciting to see!
3. Aegon’s Conquest of Westeros
Another potential prequel series could be Aegon’s conquest of Westeros. Like Robert’s Rebellion, this is another event we know quite a lot about, due to its continual referential occurrence in Game of Thrones. Aegon conquered Westeros on the back of his dragon, Balerion, with his two sisters, Rhaenys and Visenya. Though Aegon’s army was initially small when he landed in Westeros, his dragons were able to subdue Houses with larger hosts and thus win them over to his side. Notable victims of Aegon’s conquest were House Hoare, the ruling house of The Riverlands and Iron Islands, House Gardener, Kings of The Reach, and House Durrandon, the Storm Kings. Aegon’s conquest transformed Westeros into seven kingdoms under one ruler. Personally, the chance to see more dragons after Game of Thrones finishes is too exciting a prospect! Fingers crossed Aegon’s Conquest gets the prequel go-ahead!
4. The Long Night
The Long Night is the name for the period in which the White Walkers first appeared. Taking place eight thousand years before Game of Thrones, The Long Night begins with a winter like none other. In the midst of this winter, the White Walkers launched their assault. As we know from the Game of Thrones TV series, the White Walkers were created by the Children of the Forest. At the time, the First Men and the Children were at war. However, the White Walkers soon became a greater enemy than either race had ever known. In the books, Old Nan refers to ‘the last hero’, the man apparently responsible for bringing the Children and First Men together. Perhaps a prequel series could focus on this figure and the first great battle against the old enemy?
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