Filming begins on House of the Dragon next month. The Game of Thrones prequel show will tell the story of the Dance of the Dragons, a brutal Targaryen civil war that took place over 100 years before the original show.
For a while, we thought that was the only Game of Thrones prequel show in the offing…but we were wrong. As it ends up, we were very wrong. In January, we learned that HBO was developing a show based on George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg series, about the (comparatively) light-hearted wanderings of a knight and his square. They’re also working on a show about Robert’s Rebellion, which kicked the Mad King off the Iron Throne not long before the start of Game of Thrones. There’s also an animated drama coming that may or may not be a new adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, we’re not sure.
Suddenly, HBO was full to bursting with potential Game of Thrones prequel series. And now Deadline brings us the news that it’s working on three more. They are:
10,000 Ships
Nearly a thousand years before the events of Game of Thrones, Princess Nymeria of Ny Sar on Essos led the Rhoynar people in a war against the Valyrian Freehold and its dragonriders. She lost, but rather to submit to their rule, she led her people across the Narrow Sea and settled in Dorne, which her descendants would rule for generations to come. She and her people came to this new land in 10,000 ships, which Nymeria burned as a sign that their wanderings were over.
It’s not hard to see how that could make a good story, and Dorne could probably use some onscreen rehabilitation.
Flea Bottom
This show is about Flea Bottom, the poorest area of King’s Landing where characters like Gendry and Davos grew up. There’s no info on what kind of show it might be. Family drama? Workplace sitcom? It’s wide open.
9 Voyages
This show may also be called Sea Snake. It’s about Corlys Velaryon, a great mariner known as the Sea Snake. Over 100 years before Game of Thrones, he doubled the wealth of his house by taking daring voyages to all kinds of places, from the Free Cities of Lys and Tyrosh all the way to the fabled lands of Leng and Yi Ti. The show would chronicles his adventures.
Interestingly, an older Corlys Velaryon plays a pretty major role in House of the Dragon, where he’ll be played by Steve Toussaint. Of the three new shows mentioned, this one is is apparently the furthest along, with Rome and The Mentalist Bruno Heller involved. We’d also heard he was attached to the Robert’s Rebellion show. Did he switch shows? Is he doing both? Was the Robert’s Rebellion show never actually a thing and this was the one he was going to do all along? We don’t know everything yet, far from it.
In fact, let’s caution that while these shows are all reportedly in development, none of them may ever actually make it to the screen; before House of the Dragon went forward, HBO was developing several ideas that didn’t end up going anywhere. The only thing we know we’re getting for sure is House of the Dragon.
And personally, I’d like to see if that one has any legs before HBO goes whole hog on its Game of Thrones Cinematic Universe, or whatever this ends up being called. But that’s just me. What do you make of all these new Game of Thrones projects? Are they exciting? Is it too much? Just enough?
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