During the five years that HBO’s programming executives have carefully considered a worthy successor to Game of Thrones, there was one idea that George R. R. Martin was pushing. 200 years before “Game of Thrones”.
There was some resistance within the HBO cronies about creating a series about the battle for the Iron Throne like the original. Then Martin’s persistence won out after HBO filmed and canceled another “Thrones” prequel pilot. “House of the Dragon” was ordered directly into the series in late 2019. Martin is the creator of the show along with Ryan Condal.
“House of the Dragon,” the first spin-off series of “Thrones,” premieres Sunday night, and the stakes are high for HBO. A hit could prove the viability of the Thrones Cinematic Universe. A mediocre performance (or better) would raise broader questions about whether millions of viewers are yearning for more “Thrones” series.
In a conversation late last month, Martin, who has painstakingly crafted the world of The Throne in various books over the past 30 years, explained why the idea was so compelling. his ambitions for future spinoffs. And how his ongoing book will branch off from the ending of the controversial TV series Game of Thrones.
These are edited excerpts from our conversation.
Two writers worked on developing your Targaryen story, but it didn’t go anywhere. What made you keep asking for it?
I didn’t want to drop it. A lot of the material had already been written and it had everything I thought it would take to make a successor show successful. There was all the conspiracy surrounding the Iron Throne. It had great homes to compete with. There were dragons, there were many dragons, there were battles and betrayals.
“House of the Dragon” has overlapping themes with “Game of Thrones” – family rivalries, fighting for the throne. How is it different?
“Game of Thrones” and my book version of it, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” are in some ways classic high fantasy in the style of Tolkien and many of the writers who followed. In a way, I’m deconstructing those tropes, myths, what were their characteristics. But I also follow to some extent. “House of the Dragon” is like a historical novel with dragons. It’s like a Shakespearean tragedy.
It’s been exactly three years since ‘Game of Thrones’ ended in a way that disappointed many fans. How did you end up?
One of the later seasons of the show was how many seasons it was going to be.When [the “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss] For years they said they wanted to wrap it up with a 7th season. It’s like a long season.
But I never thought 7 or 8 seasons would be enough. I campaigned for 10 seasons, and it could have been 12. We have enough material to sustain us for 12 seasons.
But I lost that fight and went with eight. One of the big complaints about those last seasons, not only what happened, but also about it, was that it happened so suddenly that it wasn’t set. I think it worked better.
What is your level of concern about the new show in light of the backlash?
You may also see comments from people online or email them directly. I have similar concerns with my book. As you know, “The Winds of Winter” is a very slow one. The last book was 11 years before him and people are very upset about it. But how many?
With “House of the Dragon” and other spin-offs, and then “Winds of Winter,” it will soon face backlash and resistance from people who don’t want to give it a chance.
Let’s say “House of the Dragon” is a hit. What is your ideal ambition here? A whole fleet of “Thrones” TV series?
Well, we have many other spin-offs in development. There’s a Jon Snow sequel show, and the rest are all prequels. There’s “Ten Thousand Ships” about Nymeria – it’s like 1000 years ago and about how the Loiners came to Dorne. There are his nine voyages of the sea serpent, Corlys Velaryon. It will take us to places in the world we have never seen.
Several anime shows are in the works. One of them is basically set in Yi Ti, a fantasy version of Imperial China or the Far East. Got a nice script on it. Obviously, not all of these shows we’re developing will make it to the air, but I hope some of them do.
Are there any models you admire? Something like Marvel?
I like what Marvel is doing because I like different shows. Another model of hers that I found interesting was the old ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show’. That show spawned a number of spin-offs. There was “Rhoda” about her friend. Phyllis got her own show. And it was “Lou Grant” that really got me excited. They took this character out of the sitcom and made him the hero of a serious journalism show. It’s pretty amazing to take a character that’s a cartoon foil and make him the center of a serious show.
Before ‘House of the Dragon’ was given the green light, HBO filmed the entire pilot for the show, which takes place 1,000 years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’. Finally canceled. What went wrong?
Well, I never saw a pilot. For some reason they don’t let me see it so I don’t know. is mentioned all over my book, but it’s an ancient event that people tell stories about – it’s like the Garden of Eden or the flood in the Bible. , I said. You may be talking about cavemen. “
How does ‘House of the Dragon’ relate to the original series ‘Game of Thrones’?
I’m more involved in ‘House of the Dragons’ than later in ‘Game of Thrones’. Well, I was heavily involved in the early seasons of “Game of Thrones.” Seasons 1 to 4, I mean, not only did I write the script, but I was making verdicts on all the casting, especially like season 1 or 2. i was reading the script. I was talking to Dan and David. I visited the set. But as the years went by, that involvement became less and less.
Will your upcoming book branch off from the TV series ‘Thrones’?
Much of this story comes to me as I write. I honestly didn’t expect the show to surpass my book, but I always knew the book would start going where it didn’t. The more progress and the longer it gets, the more ideas come to me and the characters take me further and further away from where the show has gone.
So I think you’ll find my ending very different when “Winter Wind” and hopefully “Spring Dream” come out. And there were some similarities, some key moments when David and Dan came to visit me in Santa Fe years ago, but he was only there for a couple of days. So I didn’t tell you everything. And even some of the things I told them are changing while I’m writing. Then, the reader and the viewer will decide which one they prefer and discuss it.
When will the book be finished?
no comment. no comment. no comment. I get in trouble every time. So I went back in time about ten years ago and said, “Oh, I should do it next year.” And it won’t be done next year. And “George lied to us.” I’m not very good at predicting these things. And part of it depends on how many other interruptions there are etc. I’m in a pretty good place right now so I’m optimistic. But I’m not going to make any predictions.