Earlier this week, we heard that HBO has “actively discussed” creating a new Game of Thrones prequel show about Aegon the Conqueror, the first king of Westeros. Together with his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys, Aegon set out to conquer the Seven Kingdoms from the island fortress of Dragonstone some 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Mounted on their dragons, the trio didn’t have too much trouble. Aegon built the Iron Throne and was the first one to sit upon it.
All that information we’d already learned from George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series and his book Fire & Blood, which spends a good chunk of time on Aegon. House of the Dragon, a Game of Thrones prequel adapted from Fire & Blood, added a new wrinkle: according to King Viserys I Targaryen, the reason Aegon was driven to conquer the Seven Kingdoms was because he had visions of a winter far in the future where a great darkness would descend out of the North. Only by uniting the Seven Kingdoms, Aegon reasoned, could humanity hope to survive this attack.
Any new show would presumably incorporate this new information about Aegon. But this actually isn’t the first time we’ve heard about an Aegon the Conqueror spinoff.
The war of the Game of Thrones spinoffs
As Game of Thrones was wrapping up, HBO explored many ideas for spinoffs and prequels. One of them — House of the Dragon — eventually made its way on the air and has so far been very successful. But there were others. HBO made a pilot for a show called Blood Moon, about the first time White Walkers invaded Westeros, but eventually set it aside, deeming it not good enough to develop further. It’s developing a show about Dunk and Egg, based on Martin’s novellas. A Jon Snow sequel series may be in the works. HBO was looking into making series about Nymeria of the Rhoyne and another about a young Corlys Velaryon, but those have reportedly been set aside. At one point they were looking at making a show set in Old Valyria. They tried everything, people. And they still are.
Included among this glut of ideas was a show about Aegon the Conqueror. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it was developed by Rand Ravich and Far Shariat. The script portrayed Aegon as a “drunken lout” in the style of William the Conqueror, aka William, Duke of Normandy. The Norman Conquest of England was one of Martin’s inspirations for the Aegon’s Conquest of Westeros, so using William the Conqueror as a touchstone makes sense.
Is this the same pitch that’s being “actively discussed” now at HBO? It’s hard to say. Some of these pitches have gone through transformations since they first came into existence. For instance, the first pitch for the show that would become House of the Dragon came from Game of Thrones writer Brian Cogman, but HBO initially passed on it in favor of making Blood Moon. When that didn’t work out, they returned to House of the Dragon, but in the meantime Cogman had found work elsewhere, so they hired Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik to serve as showrunners instead. Perhaps something like that has happened with the Aegon show?
Which Game of Thrones spinoffs will HBO actually make?
There’s been a good amount of hype about this theoretical Aegon the Conqueror series, but it’s important to remember that it’s in the early planning stages. It may well never come to pass.
And if you ask me, that might be for the best. So far, HBO has done a good job of not overexposing the Game of Thrones brand. It has one spinoff on the air: House of the Dragon, which is finding success in part, I think, because it doesn’t have to compete with any other spinoffs or prequels. If you want to see what overexposure can do to fan excitement, look at what Disney has done with Marvel and Star Wars. They’re still making some good stuff, but it’s been harder to get people interested.
I think HBO will probably announce one more Game of Thrones spinoff to run alongside House of the Dragon. Maybe it will be the Aegon show, but maybe it won’t. They could always make a show about Aegon after House of the Dragon wraps up, continuing the Targaryen theme; they could probably even keep the name House of the Dragon. I just hope they know not to stretch themselves too thin.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels