With House of the Dragon now premiering, the viewers are thrilled to have the World of Ice and Fire back on the small screen. While it's far from the only Game of Thrones spin-off HBO planned, it's the first one to make it all the way. Indeed, the previous effort, the infamous Bloodmoon made it to the Pilot stage before being unceremoniously and abruptly canceled.
Few details about Bloodmoon are common knowledge, and the true reasons behind its axing remain a matter of debate. However, a recent report from The Hollywood Reporter shines a light on the spin-off and its premise, providing a few clues as to what went wrong.
Bloodmoon's Setting
Because HBO wanted something completely different following Game of Thrones, they settled for Bloodmoon. The show took place during the Age of Heroes, some 8000 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Martin doesn't reveal much about the time in his novels; indeed, A Song of Ice and Fire includes only a few lines about the Age of Heroes and the Long Night.
Still, the idea of going back to Westeros' beginning sounds too good to pass. The ancient world lacked many of Thrones' fan-favorite features, but it would've been a nice change of pace after eight years. The show would've also served as an expansion of Martin's already impressive world.
Bloodmoon's Plot
Bloodmoon would have chronicled Westeros' descent from its golden Age of Heroes into its darkest period, the Long Night. Fans of the book series know the first Long Night featured the rise of the White Walkers, who came from the Lands of Always Winter to submerge the known world in a winter that spanned generations. The Long Night ended with the Battle for the Dawn.
The Pilot for Bloodmoon followed a marriage union between a Southern and a Northern house; according to Martin, it would've then gotten into "the whole history of the White Walkers." The series would've presumably followed the entirety of the Long Night, perhaps ending with the Battle for the Dawn, the construction of the Wall, and the creation of the Night's Watch. A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the all-time best fantasy book series, and a series that depicted its origins would've been great.
Bloodmoon's Star, Naomi Watts
Two-time Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts led the sprawling cast of Bloodmoon. Rising to prominence with David Lynch's neo-noir masterpiece Mulholland Drive, Watts went on to star in major films like The Ring movies, Peter Jackson's King Kong, and Alejandro González Iñarritú's Birdman. Watts also earned two Oscar nominations in the Lead Actress category for her work in 21 Grams and The Impossible.
Details about Watt's role remain scarce. Variety reported she would play "a charismatic socialite with a dark secret," but in a 2020 interview with Collider, Watts revealed she couldn't say much about the project but expressed disappointment at its cancelation.
Bloodmoon's Supporting Cast
Joining Watts in Bloodmoon was a sprawling cast of actors. Jamie Campbell Bower, who is currently riding the Stranger Things wave, was among the first actors cast for Bloodmoon, alongside Josh Whitehouse and Georgie Henley. Naomi Ackie, who will portray Whitney Houston in this year's biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, also joined the show's cast. Finally, two-time Oscar nominee Miranda Richardson was among the last actors cast.
It's unclear who these actors would've played. Few details emerged about any of their roles, and while some recognizable characters from Westerosi legends might be among the cast, chances are most of the actors would've played obscure or outright new figures to the world of Ice and Fire.
Bloodmoon's Possible Characters
The Age of Heroes featured several characters that book fans will immediately recognize. Iconic Westerosi figures like Bran the Builder, the Grey King, Lann the Clever, Garth Greenhand, and the immortal Elenei were responsible for turning the epoch into a thriving time.
Many of these figures are ancestors of the modern Westerosi houses fans meet in Game of Thrones; for example, Lann the Clever is the de-facto founder of House Lannister, while Bran the Builder was the first King in the North and the ancestor of House Stark. There are no official confirmations whether the announced cast would play any of these roles; however, these figures are crucial for the Age of Heroes, and they were bound to appear in Bloodmoon.
Bloodmoon's Behind-The-Scenes Team
Jane Goldman, best known for her frequent collaborations with Matthew Vaugh, served as Bloodmoon's showrunner. Goldman gained critical acclaim for co-writing the screenplays to Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service and its sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle (all three based on Mark Millar comics). Goldman also collaborated with Vaugh on Stardust and X-Men: First Class.
Bloodmoon never got past the Pilot stage, but the THR profile claims Goldman seemed confident on a series order and had already begun assembling a writer's room to map out the season. Goldman has never spoken publicly about the project's demise; she will next write the script for the upcoming The Little Mermaid live-action adaptation.
George R. R. Martin's Involvement
George R. R. Martin, the man behind A Song of Ice and Fire, played a considerable role in developing Bloodmoon. Like most of the other GOT spin-offs, Martin worked closely with the behind-the-scenes team to ensure an accurate depiction of his world.
However, Bloodmoon was unique because there wasn't much in his books about the Age of Heroes or the Long Night. Martin expressed uncertainty at the idea's viability, claiming it would be very difficult to do right. HBO is so secretive with the Pilot that Martin hasn't even seen it, and chances are he never will,
Bloodmoon's Unfortunate Cancelation
Despite the Pilot's completion, Bloodmoon was abruptly canceled in late 2019 without explanation. Few details came out at the time, with the studio staying mostly silent and focusing its attention on the spin-off that was actually happening and that would become House of the Dragon.
In the THR profile, Casey Bloys, Chief Content Office for HBO and HBO Max, claims that "it required a lot more invention." Robert Greenblatt, then chairman of WarnerMedia, adds that the Pilot "wasn't unwatchable or horrible or anything," but it didn't have the "depth and richness the original series' Pilot did." As Bloys said, Bloodmoon was "higher risk, higher reward." Without Martin's books, the show would've been HBO's sole responsibility, and considering how that turned out for GOT season 8, the network might've been hesitant to try that again.