George R.R. Martin hopes Game of Thrones can become a franchise similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The author began his acclaimed fantasy book series with Game of Thrones in 1996. In 2011, the as-of-yet unfinished A Song of Ice and Fire series was adapted for television by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO and became a worldwide sensation until its completion in 2019. Although the final season of Game of Thrones ended with controversy, Martin and HBO still wanted to capitalize on the show's immense success and began developing multiple spinoff projects.
The studio is developing four live-action Game of Thrones spinoff shows, including a sequel about Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), a Tales of Dunk and Egg series based on Martin's novellas, and a series about the nine voyages of the Sea Snake written by Gotham scribe Bruno Heller. The prequel series, House of the Dragon, is set to release in August and will chronicle the events of the House Targaryen leading up to the familial civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. Martin and HBO also have three animated projects currently in the works; however, details have been kept relatively under wraps.
Martin recently sat down with THR and discussed the expansion of his Game of Thrones media franchise. Although the author has yet to complete his A Song of Fire and Ice fantasy novel series, he wished to expand his world in various ways, similar to that of the MCU. Martin appreciates that the MCU can have massive, easily consumable projects, like The Avengers, but can also experiment with unconventional storytelling with entries such as WandaVision. Read what the author said below.
"The MCU has The Avengers, but they also have something offbeat like WandaVision. That’s what I hope we can do with these other Game of Thrones shows, so we can have a variety that showcases the history of this world. There are only so many times you can do a competition for the Iron Throne."
The author understands that attempting to recapture the magic that was HBO's Game of Thrones would not yield positive results as it would retread old ground. However, Martin rightly believes that the future of his franchise would be through the exploration of his meticulously crafted world and extensive lore. The smaller animated projects and future live-action spinoff shows will help realize a vision Martin had been developing since he began writing his books in 1991.
Although Martin is enticed by the idea of using "offbeat" projects similar to that of WandaVision to expand his richly cultivated fantasy world, HBO's first entry into the franchise will be House of the Dragon. This live-action series bears a striking resemblance to its predecessor show. The upcoming series will feature a violent drama surrounding a balance of power through a quest for the Iron Throne. Although the show sounds incredibly similar to Game of Thrones, the series will feature the history of the Targaryens and their civil war, which ends up reverberating throughout the centuries of Westeros, leading to the events presented in the popular HBO series. With many of the Game of Thrones spinoff series years away, audiences can watch House of the Dragon when it premieres on HBO on August 21.
Source: THR