That Game of Thrones prequel that got shitcanned before HBO landed on House of Dragons reportedly cost the network a whopping USD$30 million (AUD$42 million).
The series, which was rumoured to be called The Long Night and starred Aussie Naomi Watts, only produced one ep before HBO pulled the plug, according to former WarnerMedia chairman Bob Greenblatt.
“They had spent over $30 million on a Game of Thrones prequel pilot that was in production when I got there,” Greenblatt revealed while discussing the history of Game of Thrones in his new book, Tinderbox.
“And when I saw a cut of [the pilot] a few months after I arrived, I said to [HBO head of content Casey Bloys], ‘This just doesn’t work and I don’t think it delivers on the promise of the original series.’ And he didn’t disagree, which actually was a relief.”
The axed series was penned by Jane Goldman, who wrote the Kingsman film series, and was set to take place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones.
It followed the Stark and Lannister ancestors and focused on the backstory of the franchise, including the origins of the White Walkers, the mysteries of the East, and the downfall of the land from the Golden Age of Heroes into a hellish place.
The show was given the green light in June 2018 before being scrapped a year later in October 2019 after producing the v. exxy pilot ep.
“We unfortunately decided to pull the plug on it,” Greenblatt says in the book. “There was enormous pressure to get it right and I don’t think that would have worked.”
Game of Thrones fans needn’t despair, however, as there are currently two spinoffs still in the works, the prequel series called House of the Dragon, which stars Matt Smith and is set to drop in 2022. And there’s also a spinoff based on George R.R. Martin’s prequel novella series, Tales of Dunk and Egg.
There’s also a Game of Thrones Broadway play in the works about the Great Tourney at Harrenhal, set 16 years before the events of the original show, which is coming in 2023. Buckle up, binches.
