More details emerge about HBO's unmade GAME OF THRONES spin-off shows

Thanks to detective work courtesy of user Zionius via Reddit, more information has come to light about the various spin-off Game of Thrones shows HBO had been working on back in 2017-18.

As we know now, HBO at one point had six Game of Thrones spin-off shows under consideration. They ordered a pilot for one of these shows but then cancelled it - Jane Goldman's The Longest Night (developed under the codename Bloodmoon, likely the name of the individual pilot episode) - and have now greenlit another, Ryan Condal's House of the Dragon, based on an earlier pitch by Bryan Cogman.

The nature of the other four shows has been unclear, although various rumours have surfaced over the years. However, thanks to Zionius analysing material HBO filed with the US copyright office, we now have a better idea.

Spinoff #1 was to be produced by Max Borenstein and Steeplechase Amusements Inc. It was copyrighted on 24 May 2017.

Spinoff #2 was to be produced by Brian Helgeland. It was copyrighted on 6 July 2017.

Spinoff #3 is not shown on the list, but logically must have been copyrighted in July or August 2017 and was to be produced by Carly Wray. 

Spinoff #4 was to be produced by October Lodge Ltd. and was copyrighted on 20 September 2017. Based on UK Company House filings, October Lodge is the production company owned by Jane Goldman/Ross, so this was The Longest Night (aka The Long Night aka Bloodmoon).

Spinoff #5 was to be produced by Bryan Cogman and Randy Mailman Productions, and was copyrighted on 6 April 2018. This show morphed via a seventh pitch (so #5 and #7 are the same thing, effectively) into House of the Dragon, the only one of the shows to get a full season order. We also know now that the production company for House of the Dragon "Bastard Sword." HBO plan to shoot this series next year for airing in 2022.

Spinoff #6 was to be produced by HunterFed and Far Shariat and was copyrighted after 8 February 2018. Far Shariat is an experienced TV producer, often working with Rand Ravich, and they have an overall development deal with HBO at present.

So #4 was The Longest Night and #5 became House of the Dragon. So what were the other shows?

Max Borenstein's show - #1 on this list - was reportedly called Empire of Ash and was set 100 years before the Doom of Valyria, and would have been a sweeping historical epic set in both Valyria itself and in the colonies in Sothoryos across the Summer Sea. Going by (massively unconfirmed) rumour, this show had a lot of development done for it which makes sense given it was the longest in development, but HBO was skittish about it because of the high cost of both the dragons and also depicting a much more fantasy-ish setting, with relatively limited direct connections to Game of Thrones. On the other hand HBO liked the similarities to their own, earlier show Rome. Apparently this idea has been moved to a backburner and maybe brought back into play at a later date (Borenstein is primarily working in film as a writer, so may be available later on).

Helgeland's show - #2 on the list - has never been formally identified. In an evasive interview, Helgeland only confirmed that his show was set in Westeros hundreds of years before GoT itself (he also suggested afterwards, but my information is that no show set "hundreds of years" after GoT was ever seriously considered). It is possible to likely that Helgeland's show was the "Aegon's Conquest" series revolving around the Conquest of Westeros by Aegon the Conqueror and the forging of the Iron Throne. Looking further back in the timeline, it's hard to see other events that may have been of interest.

Carly Wray's show - #3 on the list - has also never been formally identified. In this interview she confirms it's a prequel based in Westeros and is based on an episode in the earlier material. It also sounds like her idea was not as developed as others. It's unclear what it might have been (and runs into the same problem as Helgeland's setting). Assuming one of these two shows is the Conquest show, speculation can thus run rampant over the second, since GRRM has confirmed that neither a Robert's Rebellion or Dunk & Egg series was ever seriously considered (GRRM vetoed both ideas early on).

It should be noted that apparently only two of the shows - the Dance of Dragons and the Conquest - were based on material from the book Fire and Blood. That suggests the remaining Westeros pitch was set before the Conquest but after the Long Night. The only event with dramatic potential for a TV show in this time is Nymeria and the Rhoynar's flight from Essos to Dorne, via a hazardous journey through Sothoryos and the Summer Islands, sort of like a fantasy version of Battlestar Galactica. That could have been intriguing.

Spinoff #6 is an interesting one. It was proposed after all the others and seems to have been floated as an idea not long before The Longest Night was given a pilot order. As of May 2020, it was "still in contention," although the producers have since moved on to HBO's J.J. Abrams project Demimonde.

It'll be interesting to see if these other showrunners ever speak up in future about what their ideas would have been. In the meantime, we still have two years before House of the Dragon launches on HBO. 

Cancelled GAME OF THRONES spinoff details leaked

Some details about the cancelled Game of Thrones spinoff show The Longest Night* have been revealed thanks to Redanian Intelligence (rapidly establishing itself as the new go-to place for fantasy show news and rumours) and YouTuber Lucifer Means Lightbringer, who spoke to an extra involved in the production of the pilot (although please note the latter claims have not been additionally verified).

The Longest Night was the first Game of Thrones spin-offs to be commissioned. A pilot episode, entitled Bloodmoon, was shot last summer and was presented to HBO executives in the autumn of 2019. After several weeks debating the merits of the show versus several other Game of Thrones projects they had under discussion, HBO decided not to proceed with The Longest Night and cancelled it, instead ordering directly to series a second project called House of the Dragon, which we learned this week was looking to cast key characters from the civil war known as the Dance of Dragons.

This leaves the question of what The Longest Night was going to be about still hanging. We know that it was going to be set during the Long Night, the generation-lasting period of darkness and ice during which time the White Walkers (known as the Others in the books) invaded Westeros and unleashed a period of ice and terror that was halted by the War for the Dawn, when the Last Hero defeated the White Walkers and drove them back into the North. The Wall was raised to bar their return. According to traditional history in the books, this period takes place about eight thousand years before the events of the novel series, although in interviews and in some passages in the books, George R.R. Martin has suggested this date is erroneous and the true figure is between four and five thousand years earlier.

Whilst stirring stuff, it's a bit light on the specifics, which the leaks have shed some more light on.

We already knew that Naomi Watts was playing a noble lady, but it's now been revealed that her character had a daughter, played by Amy McPherson. The Children of the Forest were also going to play a major role, with Leaf (who appeared in Game of Thrones itself) returning, this time played by Doyin Ajiboye. Leaf would have been a series regular. Two other Children would have been recurring characters: Cloud (Seyi Andes-Pelumi) and Lake (Felicia Mukasa).

Twins Leah and Mhairi Gayer would have played in-show twins Caera and Vera. Gabriella Morales was a stand-in for a princess, whilst other characters included Ianthe (Rosy McEwan), Reynard (Sean Rigby), Robben (Richard McCabe), Maiev (Dixie Egerickx), Sorcha (Georgina Campbell) and Flavia (Georgina Beedle). There was also an "enclave boy" (Zephan Hanson Amissah), "dungeon keep" (Ewan Bailey).

Other confirmed castmembers from the project included John Simm, Josh Whitehouse, Naomi Ackle, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Ivanno Jeremiah, Georgie Henley, Alex Sharp and Tony Regbo. S.J. Clarkson directed the pilot, which was written by Jane Goldman and co-produced by Clarkson, Goldman and George R.R. Martin, who was also a consultant. Among the crew was Alex Reynolds, a choreographer and "movement designer for the undead".

Based on the leaks, it sounds like the show would have indeed opened in the ancient Bronze Age of Westeros, when instead of seven large kingdoms there were dozens of petty-kingdoms, and would have revolved around a marriage alliance between the Starks of Winterfell and the Casterlys of Casterly Rock. A "blood moon" would have taken place - a type of eclipse - and then there would have been a meteor shower heralding the onset of the Long Night itself.

This is interesting stuff. My original thought was that the show would revisit the creation of the Night King by Leaf (as depicted in the fifth episode of Season 6) and maybe build up the Night King's character and explain who he was beforehand. However, from the sound of it the show as just going to jump straight into the Long Night kicking off. This may also have resolved a potential timeline discrepancy. Although the show confirmed (at least in the TV-only continuity) that the Children created the White Walkers as weapons to use against the invading First Men, it didn't address the fact that the original war ended peacefully with the forging of the Pact and the White Walkers didn't figure at all in that war; instead, several thousand years were to pass before the White Walkers abruptly showed up out of nowhere to initiate the Long Night. In the traditional history the Pact was signed around ten thousand years before the events of A Game of Thrones, two thousand years before the Long Night began; the "new history" hinted at in A Dance of Dragons potentially retcons these dates to six and five thousand years, with a millennium of peace falling between.

My guess has always been that the White Walkers were created as a last-ditch weapon of mass destruction during the original war when the Children's first two plans to destroy the First Men - shattering the Arm of Dorne and the Neck of Westeros - both failed. However, these displays of power did give pause to the First Men and ultimately led to the signing of the Pact. As a result, the White Walkers were not needed and were banished to the Lands of Always Winter, perhaps to be held in reserve should the First Men break the pact. It's possible that the Bloodmoon and the meteor impact are chance astronomical events which inadvertently awoke and released the White Walkers, or the Walkers were released by a vindictive Child of the Forest, or perhaps the Children felt that the First Men had broken the Pact in some unspecified manner.

It's also possible that the meteor impact may be related to the mythical destruction of the planet's second moon, which released dragons into the world. This is less likely, as reportedly the show was not going to involve dragons at all, although this of course could have been misdirection.

The idea of having the Casterlys featured is intriguing, as we know that the Casterlys were an ancient and revered house who controlled the region around Casterly Rock for centuries or millennia before they were deceived by the petty-king Lann the Clever, who tricked them into abandoning the fortress. He took it over himself, founding House Lannister. These events happened in the Age of Heroes, around the time of the Long Night, so would have been ripe to be depicted in the show. Pure speculation on my part, but John Simm plays roguish agents of chaos quite well (he played the Master in Doctor Who) and must be a leading candidate for such a role. It might be that Naomi Watts was playing the Queen Stark of the time and Amy McPherson her daughter, the princess who was to marry the "last Casterly."

A Stark-Casterly alliance at this time does feel a bit more questionable, though. It'd be the equivalent of an ancient tribe in the north of England marrying into a semi-powerful royal family halfway across Europe in some period before the rise of Rome; possible but unlikely. Still, if we assume the Starks and Casterlys were the most powerful dynasties of their regions, even if they weren't the full rulers of the North or the Westerlands yet, it may be more plausible. Having the Lannisters turn up and disinherit the Casterlys would also be a good way of establishing the traditional Lannister-Stark enmity.

We'll probably never see the Longest Night pilot episode, which is a shame. The reasons for the show being cancelled seem to be down to a combination of several factors: a lukewarm reception to both the original pilot and a re-edited version; the departure of the HBO execs who had commissioned the pilot and their replacement with newcomers who wanted to make their own decisions; and the highly negative reception to the resolution of the White Walker storyline on Game of Thrones itself. Spending four to eight seasons on a show revolving around a threat whose resolution had been clearly depicted already may have been ultimately seen as dramatically unsatisfying. House of the Dragon was regarded as a better option due to its focus on political intrigue and dragon warfare, elements that were at least more positively received on Thrones proper.

* The show was never formally called The Longest Night, but this was apparently George R.R. Martin's preferred title (he also referred to it as The Long Night, but this may have been less likely because of the GoT episode of the same name) and since it doesn't matter now, what the hell? Bloodmoon was the code-name used for the project to stop people realising it was Game of Thrones-related, but I suspect it was also the working title for the actual episode itself.

GAME OF THRONES spin-off THE LONG NIGHT cancelled at HBO

In not-entirely-unexpected news, the Game of Thrones prequel spin-off series tentatively called The Long Night has been cancelled after the pilot stage.

The show, developed under the working title Bloodmoon, was set approximately 5,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones proper and would have explored the origins of the White Walkers, the titular Long Night (the generation-lasting ice age that plunged the world into darkness and almost certainly introduced the unusually long seasons) and the distant ancestors of the great houses from the main series, including the Starks. Executive produced by Jane Goldman, the pilot assembled an impressive cast led by Naomi Watts, Miranda Richardson and John Simm.

However, the lukewarm reception to the ending of Game of Thrones and, in particular, the critical disdain shown for the conclusion of the White Walker storyline may have affected HBO's plans. In addition, part of The Long Night's appeal was its relatively low budget compared to Thrones itself; it turns out that a low-fi show set in the ancient Bronze Age of Westeros may have been a little too unspectacular given HBO's recent spending spree on expensive, premium dramas such as Watchmen (which launched last week to critical and commercial praise) and Joss Whedon's upcoming The Nevers. According to Deadline, HBO's initial reaction to the pilot was lukewarm, and not improved by a re-cut version.

Although The Long Night is dead, HBO is proceeding with more Thrones material. A second pilot has been ordered from producer Ryan Condal, this time for a show set during the Dance of Dragons, the desperate civil war within House Targaryen that saw dragons fighting dragons in the skies of Westeros some 170 years before the main series. With many more recognisable families, locations and, of course, dragons, this series would seem to stand a much better chance of getting greenlit. The pilot will be shot next year.

GAME OF THRONES prequel pilot starts shooting

The prequel spin-off to Game of Thrones has started shooting under the working title Bloodmoon. This is unlikely to be the final title, with George R.R. Martin preferring the title The Long Night (HBO appear to be less keen).

The pilot is shooting in the same Belfast Paint Hall studios that hosted Game of Thrones, with location shooting due to take place in Northern Ireland and several locations in Europe, including reportedly the Canary Islands.

Naomi Watts stars alongside actors including John Simm, Jamie Campbell Bower and Miranda Richardson. The series is set approximately 5,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones, in the Age of Heroes, and charts the collapse of a golden age society into the chaos of the Long Night, when the White Walkers and the Night King arose for the first time and the Wall was built. With the possible exception of the Night King, no Game of Thrones characters are expected to recur in the new series.

Jane Goldman (Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, Kingsman) is writing and executive producing the new series, with S.J. Clarkson directing the pilot and George R.R. Martin serving as a creative consultant.

If HBO greenlight the pilot, full production of the first season is expected to start before the end of the year, for a 2020 debut.

John Simm joins GAME OF THRONES prequel series

Actor John Simm has joined the cast of the Game of Thones prequel spin-off series, tentatively titled The Long Night.

Simm is a veteran British actor with a long and impressive resume, but is probably best-known in recent years for playing the Master on Doctor Who and the lead role of Sam Tyler on time-travelling detective drama Life on Mars. His other TV credits include State of Play and The Lakes, whilst his film work includes Human Traffic and 24 Hour Party People.

Simm is one of several new actors announced for the project. Other actors announced include Marquis Rodriguez (Luke Cage, Iron Fist), Richard McCabe (Collateral, Electric Dreams), John Heffernan and Dixie Egerickx (Patrick Melrose, The Little Stranger).

The Long Night is set thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, during the Age of Heroes, a bronze age civilisation that fell into ruin and despair due to the onset of the titular Long Night, a decades-long winter that plunged the world into darkness. This time marked the arising of the White Walkers, the founding of the Night's Watch, the building of the Wall and the mythic struggle known as the War for the Dawn.

HBO has so far greenlit a pilot that is expected to enter production in the next few weeks. If HBO are happy with the pilot and give a series order, the remainder of the first season would be expected to shoot later in the year for transmission in 2020.

GAME OF THRONES prequel series announces more castmembers

HBO has confirmed some additional cast and crew for the Game of Thrones prequel spin-off show that is due to start shooting imminently.

The series, provisionally entitled The Long Night, takes place thousands of years before the events of its predecessor and chronicles the descent of Westeros from the glory of the Age of Heroes into the terrors of the Long Night, when the White Walkers appeared for the first time and the Night's Watch was founded.

HBO previously confirmed that Naomi Watts and Josh Whitehouse would be starring in the show, whilst Jane Goldman will be working on the series as head writer and showrunner. To that they have added Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Ivanno Jeremiah, Georgie Henley, Alex Sharp and Tony Regbo.

Ackie is an up-and-coming actress who attracted attention for her role in Idris Elba's directorial debut, Yardie. She also has a role in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX. Tony Regbo has been a semi-regular on The Last Kingdom, playing Æthelred, Lord of Mercia in Seasons 2 and 3.

Jame Campbell Bower is an interesting addition. He played the role of Ser Waymar Royce in the original 2009 pilot for Game of Thrones, but was unable to reprise the role for the series proper, as he had been cast as King Arthur in Starz's short-lived Camelot series. The role was recast with Rob Ostlere playing the (short-lived, as he dies before the title credits begin) role.

HBO have also confirmed that British director S.J. Clarkson will be directing the pilot. She has shot episodes of series including The Defenders, Jessica Jones, Orange is the New Black, Banshee, Dexter, Heroes and Life on Mars. She is also provisionally booked to shoot the fourth Star Trek movie to be produced by J.J. Abams, although the fate of that film remains unclear due to an ongoing cast payment dispute.

The pilot episode for the new series will shoot shortly, with HBO due to make a decision on the project in the summer or winter. If greenlit, production would resume with an air to the show launching in mid or late 2020.

Game of Thrones' eighth and final season will air in April 2019, consisting of six episodes, although each episode is expected to be significantly longer than normal.

GAME OF THRONES spin-off casts another lead

Following yesterday's news that Naomi Watts would be starring in the Game of Thrones prequel spin-off show (provisionally entitled The Long Night), it's now been confirmed that the show has found another leading actor.

Josh Whitehouse (Poldark, The Happy Worker, Valley Girl) has been cast in a key leading role, although, oddly, HBO have not provided any kind of character description. Whitehouse has been seen as a strong up-and-comer, reminiscent of the profile Richard Madden had when he was cast as Robb Stark for the pilot of Game of Thrones itself, nine years ago.

The Long Night will shoot its pilot episode just after Christmas. If it impresses HBO, production of Season 1 proper will take place later in the year for the show to debut on HBO in 2020.

GAME OF THRONES prequel pilot casts Naomi Watts to star

Actress Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive, King Kong, The Ring) has been cast as the lead in the pilot to the Game of Thrones prequel series, provisionally entitled The Long Night.

Watts will be playing "a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret". The Long Night takes place approximately 8,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones itself and charts the collapse of the Age of Heroes, a golden age of human kingdoms living in alliance with the Children of the Forest. A terrible winter descends upon the world, bringing with it the first threat of the mysterious White Walkers.

No Game of Thrones characters - apart potentially from the Night King - will appear in the new series, but the ancestors of families such as the Starks are expected to be major characters. In the books the Long Night takes place during the Bronze Age of Westeros, with far more primitive weapons, castles, armour and cities appearing. The "socialite" tag sounds a bit odd in this context, but may be referring to Watts' character playing a noblewoman who becomes aware of the growing threat in some manner.

Watts' casting is high-profile, although that doesn't mean much for the longevity of her character as Sean Bean fans can attest. Watts will probably be hoping this show goes better than her last one, Netflix's Gypsy, which attracted poor ratings and reviews and was cancelled after one season. She also recently appeared in David Lynch's Twin Peaks: The Return.

The pilot to The Long Night - if that is its final title - will start shooting in the New Year. If HBO decide to proceed to series, it will air in early 2020.

Details leak on second GAME OF THRONES spin-off show

Last month HBO confirmed it was moving ahead with a pilot script for a Game of Thrones spin-off show based on the Long Night, the ancient war between the First Men and the White Walkers that ended with the construction of the Wall and the founding of the Night's Watch. Jane Goldman has been developing the project (in consultation with George R.R. Martin) and HBO have been happy enough with her work to push it through to the pilot stage. We're now hearing that the pilot will shoot in October and November - nine years exactly after the pilot shoot for Game of Thrones itself - with a view to the first season shooting next year and airing in 2020, mirroring the GoT development process.

Ted Nasmith's depiction of Valyria, from The World of Ice and Fire.

There are also now rumours spreading that HBO is leaning towards greenlighting a second pilot, this time set around the Doom of Valyria. This is the project that Max Borenstein (Godzilla, Skull Island) has been working on for some time and has the working title Empire of Ash. According to the reports, HBO and Borenstein - presumably also in close consultation with George R.R. Martin - have developed a significant amount of worldbuilding for this project, with a five-season, 10-episodes-per-season story arc worked out in some detail which presumably culminates in the Doom and its aftermath.

According to the report, the story will be predominantly set in Valyria and its colonies in Sothoryos, and will feature a much more diverse cast of characters in terms of religion and ethnicity. The story will follow several characters with House Targaryen very much a minor background faction, but which will presumably become higher in profile later on. According to the reports Aenar Targaryen and his daughter Daenys the Dreamer will play a role, which suggests this will be multi-generational story, spanning the century between Aenar's departure for Dragonstone and the Doom itself. In this manner the show sounds highly reminiscent of HBO's epic series Rome (2004-07), except set in a fictional setting.

Is this story plausible? Yes, of the five spin-off ideas HBO originally commissioned, I understand that three are still in serious play, including both a Long Night and Doom of Valyria series. The third, which may be the Dance of Dragons, may actually be dependent on how far they go down the Doom of Valyria route, as both would be dragon-heavy story with political intrigue; Empire of Ash may be more tempting as it's a whole new story whilst the Dance's storyline will be presented in full in Fire and Blood, so I suspect the Dance project would move onto the backburner if Empire moves forward (in fact, the suggestion that HBO are actually considering two projects indicates this may have already happened).

The reasons why Empire of Ash has not been formally greenlit yet appear to be myriad: HBO want some more space from The Long Night's announcement before confirming this project and they have also been courting Miguel Sapochnik to direct the pilot. However, Sapochnik has also reportedly been approached by Netflix to direct possibly multiple episodes of the first season of The Witcher, which is now in formal pre-production and casting, with a view to shooting at the end of this year or the start of next, potentially clashing with the Empire of Ash pilot.

Interesting to get more news on this as it develops.