HBO’s megahit series “Game of Thrones” was so successful that there’s been a nonstop churn of spinoffs in development ever since it ended. Now, though, something different is stirring: a “Game of Thrones” movie. According to the Hollywood Reporter, HBO has been “quietly developing at least one film” set in the historical fantasy world created by author George R.R. Martin. There are currently no writers, directors, or cast members attached to the project(s), nor any specifics about the story, but there’s certainly no shortage of source material.
This isn’t the first time the possibility of movies has been floated. Martin said in 2014 that ideas like a big screen conclusion for “Game of Thrones” were being “actively discussed,” and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss wanted to wrap up the series with a movie trilogy. (Instead, it ended with a final season that was notoriously hated by fans.)
HBO’s parent company is Warner Bros. Discovery, which has become focused on straddling its franchises across film and television. The upcoming spinoff series “Dune: Prophecy” is explicitly set in the same world as Denis Villeneuve’s recent movie adaptations. Andy and Barbara Muschietti, the creative team behind the hugely successful movie adaptations of Stephen King’s “IT,” are now bringing that world to the small screen in “Welcome to Derry.” James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe will use the same actors for DC characters across movies, TV shows, and even animated projects.
With “Game of Thrones” being one of the biggest properties under the Warner Bros. Discovery umbrella, it makes sense that the company wants to cash in on its popularity at the box office. The big question (that HBO is presumably now wrestling with) is which “Game of Thrones” story will bring in the most cash.
Whose story should the Game of Thrones movie tell?
One obvious possibility is to do what Benioff and Weiss once hoped to do: a direct linear continuation of the “Game of Thrones” storyline on the big screen. The downside, of course, is that this would come with a lot of baggage from the show’s rushed and hated ending. The recently-canceled TV spinoff focusing on Jon Snow’s exploits north of the Wall would have been a smart way to avoid dealing with the politics of King’s Landing at all. Who knows — perhaps that spinoff was canceled for the purposes of developing it as a movie instead.
The Jon Snow series isn’t the only “Game of Thrones” spinoff that’s been canceled after lengthy development. HBO spent $30 million shooting a pilot for a prequel show with the working title “Bloodmoon,” set 5000 years before the events of the original series and starring Naomi Watts, Denise Gough, and Miranda Richardson. That project was formally rejected on the same day that HBO announced that “House of the Dragon” had been ordered to series, but perhaps it could be resurrected as a feature film.
With “House of the Dragon” season 2 averaging 25 million cross platform viewers, a loyal audience is definitely still out there — but swords-and-sorcery fantasy is a tough sell at the box office. Will HBO figure out the right recipe for a “Game of Thrones” movie before “The Winds of Winter” is published? Or will the world freeze over before either of those things happen?
