Movies

Does Game of Thrones Really Need to Be a Shared Universe?


To be clear, HBO is already hard at work developing multiple live-action Game of Thrones spinoffs at this very moment. Currently, House of the Dragon, a series detailing the sordid Westerosi civil war known as the Dance of Dragons, is in production and is poised to debut in 2022. Additionally, it was announced just last week that HBO is now also developing a show based on a series of novellas and short stories Martin has written: Tales of Dunk & Egg. However, House of the Dragon came out of a development process where HBO received pitches for five other potential prequel spinoffs (including one that got an ill-fated pilot set during The Long Night). Dragon is also co-developed by Martin and is based on a fictional history book the author wrote about the Targaryen family, Fire & Blood.

Meanwhile Tales of Dunk & Egg will be based on three existing stories published by Martin, which also gives that series a literary basis—although one similar to Game of Thrones in that these more jovial adventures are left unfinished on the page, with four more planned novellas meant to conclude Dunk and Egg’s arcs currently unwritten.

Both developing series are based directly on Martin’s own writings and vision for Westeros. By contrast, the new development of a Game of Thrones animated series seems to emphasize a step closer to pure content expansion (and exploitation) as an end unto itself. Consider how a once concise and generally beloved trilogy about space wizards has given way to a sprawling media empire of varying quality with seeming narrative dead-ends and cul-de-sacs. One might even argue that the more Star Wars movies they make, the less satisfied a divided fanbase becomes.

Game of Thrones already has a complicated legacy due to the controversial and flawed ending of the series’ final season. While I personally maintain it is not as awful as the general social media narrative suggests, it left a lot to be desired and brought a rushed and awkward end to a series that had a thrilling beginning and stunning middle. Still, it is at least complete.

Yet with this new project being described as an “animated Game of Thrones” series, I’m reminded of how Amazon is labeling their new billion-dollar series set in Middle-earth as Lord of the Rings. Up until recently, Lord of the Rings referred to a specific story written by J.R.R. Tolkien about a hobbit, his pals, and a fellowship of dudes going on a stroll to Mordor. At a glance it might seem pedantic to make a distinction between the story of Lord of the Rings (or Game of Thrones) and other film and television projects that use their names for simple brand association… but therein lies a potential danger. If the name of a singular project becomes simply a brand to slap on endless lunchboxes, you eventually wind up with something far away from what made the original story so beloved in the first place.



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