While Game of Thrones only has House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as officially sanctioned spinoffs, that hasn't stopped HBO from kicking around other ideas to flesh out the larger story of Westeros and beyond. Of these various plans for how the world of Game of Thrones can be expanded, one speculative project in particular feels like the most obvious choice. It doesn't just sound great in its own right; it could also lead to a shot at much-needed redemption for how its parent show ended in 2019.
Game of Thrones season 8 shook the fan base with its rapid decline. While it started as great as ever, the closing stages of the story felt like someone at HBO had sat on the remote control and set everything to fast-forward. It was a functional ending. It made sense, but angered a lot of people with how it was executed. Still, several loose ends were left dangling intentionally in case the franchise wanted to continue the timeline. None of these avenues has been officially explored — but maybe one of them should be.
Arya Stark's potential Game of Thrones spinoff explained
It's important to note that this hasn't been officially greenlit. However, for ease of communication, I'm going to give this speculative spinoff the name: West of Westeros. The project would pay off Maisie Williams' character's decision to head west in the Game of Thrones finale, to explore the regions "where all the maps stop." It's been heavily discussed and rumored online, and now seems to be more likely to happen than the idea of following Kit Harrington's Jon Snow in the years that followed Game of Thrones' ending.
West of Westeros (it's catchy, right?) is largely expected to be a more lighthearted affair than Game of Thrones. Rather than the endless warfare and politicking that made the franchise so popular, the Arya Stark spinoff would be more of an adventure epic that delved deeper into the darkest corners of George R.R. Martin's fantasy world than ever before. But, and I cannot stress this enough, West of Westeros is still just one of many possible Game of Thrones spinoffs that could be put into production. Still, let's assume for the sake of argument that it will happen — what could that mean for the franchise?
West of Westeros would be the perfect spinoff to fix Game of Thrones' ending
I've already said that I don't think Game of Thrones has an inherently bad ending. It's just very rushed. Still, the fact that such a beloved show was hurried along to the finish line left a bad taste in fans' mouths. That said, there are ways it can be redeemed. While making prequels like House of the Dragon is one way to go about it, a true follow-up series that doesn't go backward is surely an inevitability at this point. Season 8 ended in 2019, and there has not been any confirmed information about the canonical aftermath of the finale.
West of Westeros wouldn't directly fix that problem, as it would presumably take place in new locations that are largely unaffected by what happened in Game of Thrones. On the other hand, the speculative spinoff could pretty quickly revive Game of Thrones, all thanks to a much-discussed line from Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister. When Jon asks if he did the right thing by killing Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) in "The Iron Throne," Tyrion answers: "Ask me again in ten years."
Let's say West of Westeros were greenlit by HBO right now, and that the first season dropped in 2027. That would mean Game of Thrones' 2019 finale would be eight years old. All it would take is a handful of seasons, assuming that one season equals one year, and we'd be seeing Arya's exploits a decade after "The Iron Throne." Then, Game of Thrones season 9 could be a viable option.
While season 8 dented the franchise's reputation for a time, House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms have worked tirelessly to restore the HBO saga to what it once was. By 2027, deep into West of Westeros' potential run, fans will likely be even more eager to catch up with Tyrion, Jon, and the other surviving members of the main cast. Plus, there would inevitably be some compelling newcomers to meet. In short, Tyrion's 10-year tease could ultimately refer to an unexpected, but much-needed, Game of Thrones revival, and West of Westeros could ease us in nicely.
Game of Thrones and its two ACTUAL spinoff are available to stream now on HBO Max.