HBO boss dashes hope for more Game of Thrones spinoffs in the near future — and seemingly confirms one is dead

We're currently in the midst of a banner year for Westeros, which has given us a third season of House of the Dragon, a first season of the brand new Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the premiere of the Game of Thrones: The Mad King stage play, anniversary celebrations for both the television show and George R.R. Martin's original book, and more. Rarely has one calendar year held so much to celebrate for the Seven Kingdoms.

But as the Starks say, winter is coming.

Last night Westeros featured prominently at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, where A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was up for Outstanding Drama Series. It didn't get the win, but the vibe has still been celebratory amongst the fandom. Stars Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell glammed it up in hilarious fashion, while the often casually dressed showrunner Ira Parker showed up decked out in a tux. Targaryen queens Emilia Clarke (Daenerys) and Emma D'Arcy (Rhaenyra) presented an award while showing off some High Valyrian. Thrones showrunner David Benioff and author George R.R. Martin were both in attendance. It was wonderful to see so many important faces from across the Game of Thrones universe in one place.

Also there was Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of both HBO and HBO Max content. Deadline had the chance to interview Bloys at the HBO Max afterparty, and while he had plenty of things to say about plenty of HBO series, he also gave a short answer with large implications when asked whether there was "any movement" on more Game of Thrones spinoffs coming down the pipeline.

"You mean in addition to the Emmy-nominated Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is coming out in the first half of ’27? And House of the Dragon? Besides that, no, nothing else," Bloys said.

At first blush, this is a pretty straight-forward thing to say. Bloys was there to promote A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and the other HBO shows that were making their current Emmy bids, like The Pitt (which won Outstanding Drama Series), not discuss projects still years away. But you know us ASOIAF nerds; we're prone to dissecting every last tidbit for what information we can. And there are details to be parsed here — including a seeming confirmation that one spinoff is well and truly dead.

The Aegon's Conquest TV show was slain by the Aegon's Conquest movie

First, the good news. Bloys saying that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 will return in the first half of 2027 is exactly what we want to hear — mostly. Season 1 premiered in January, but considering the amount of filming delays season 2 endured thanks to a historic storm flooding out some of its sets in the Canary Islands, I'd bet on it coming a little later in the year. But if Bloys is out here confirming — again — that it will drop in the first half of 2027, then we can safely mark our calendars for somewhere between January and June. I can't wait!

The more interesting thing is the confirmation that there hasn't been any movement on more Thrones spinoffs. Right now, we've got both A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and House of the Dragon, so I'd say viewers are eating better than ever where Westeros is concerned. But we know that HBO has a number of other spinoffs in various stages of development, including an animated one about Corlys Velaryon's famed nine voyages that made him the richest and most renowned sea captain in Westerosi history.

Bloys' words put the nail in the coffin for one in particular: the Aegon's Conquest television series which was previously in development from writer Mattson Tomlin. We already had our suspicions that Aegon's Conquest had gotten the axe, because Warner Bros., the film arm of HBO's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, has announced that it's making its own theatrical feature film about Aegon the Conqueror.

When word first got out about WB's Aegon's Conquest movie, it was reported that Warner Bros. Discovery was developing two different treatments of the story — HBO's TV show and WB's movie. When the movie was confirmed, it was assumed by many that it also meant the HBO show was shelved. However, we've never gotten any official confirmation, which left the door open for other possibilities. My hope was that HBO might rework its TV series into a continuation of the film, so that the movie was the actual Conquest while the show explored Aegon's decades-long rule of the Seven Kingdoms.

Now, it seems like we can safely lay that theory to rest. If Bloys says active moves aren't being made on any Game of Thrones spinoffs beyond A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and House of the Dragon, then that means the Aegon's Conquest show is well and truly dead. We're getting the movie — and really, that may be for the best.

What do we know about Game of Thrones: Aegon's Conquest?

Written by Beau Willimon (House of Cards, Andor), the first Westeros movie is appropriately titled Game of Thrones: Aegon's Conquest. Warner Bros. is keeping the details of the film close to the chest for now, but we know that it will come out in 2027 or later — most likely later. My personal guess is it'll drop in 2028 or 2029 at the earliest, to dovetail with the final season of House of the Dragon.

As for what material it will cover, it seems safe to say that the Conquest itself will be at the heart of it. That's the campaign that Aegon and his two sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys waged against the lords of the Seven Kingdoms, and it features a number of important events that lay the foundation for Westeros as we know it, from the building of King's Landing to the destruction of Harrenhal and more. The dragons at play here — Balerion the Black Dread, Vhagar, and Meraxes — are some of the biggest to ever be commanded by the Targaryen dynasty, and Martin's imagination makes full use of them to pull off epic set pieces that would look fantastic on the big screen.

We'll no doubt learn more about Game of Thrones: Aegon's Conquest as it gets deeper into production. For now, you can read about it in Fire & Blood. Check back for more updates about the film and the other spinoffs HBO has in development as they come.

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