In their haste to follow Game of Thrones up with another hit television series, HBO fumbled Bloodmoon into oblivion. Now, with House of the Dragon serving as the first of the Westerosi spinoffs succeeding the main series, the company has reflected on why the Naomi Watts-led prequel never saw the light of day.
Before settling on the Dance of the Dragons as the historical period they’d tackle alongside creator George R.R. Martin, WarnerMedia was actively developing a prequel series set 8,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones and involving the bespoke Long Night, in a time called the Age of Legends when White Walkers were ravaging through the Seven Kingdoms unchecked until a hero rose up to drive them back beyond the Wall.
Now, according to what Warner executives have recently revealed to The Hollywood Reporter, there was nothing “glaringly wrong” with Bloodmoon, but the $30 million venture ultimately wasn’t the thing they were looking for in a Game of Thrones successor.
“‘It required a lot more invention; it was higher risk, higher reward. There wasn’t anything glaringly wrong with it. Development and pilots are hard,’ says Casey Bloys.
‘It wasn’t unwatchable or horrible or anything. It was very well produced and looked extraordinary. But it didn’t take me to the same place as the original series. It didn’t have that depth and richness that the original series’ pilot did,’ adds Robert Greenblatt.”
While there are admittedly no White Walkers or wights in House of the Dragon, at least we’re diving into a period of political upheaval and civil war the likes of which Westeros has never seen since, even in the War of the Five Kings. Game of Thrones veterans would agree that this is infinitely more intriguing than the idea of a mythological story taking place in the Seven Kingdoms, since political games are what ultimately made this story so popular in the first place.
House of the Dragon is premiering on Aug. 31 on HBO.
