Game of Thrones Spin-offs: News & Speculation
- Thread starter Mercurius
- Start date
That seems a bit extreme. If you want the atlas so badly, why not ask her if you can borrow it?
Ralif Redhammer
Legend
I'd love to see them explore the more remote sections detailed in A History of Ice and Fire, like Asshai. And the Dance of Dragons would make for a great, if expensive, tale.
Sadras
Legend
Kaodi
Hero
The world building of Westeros is not really the strong suite of the show. Beyond Winterfell and the North, the Wall, Beyond the Wall, the Riverlands, King's Landing, Dorne, the Iron Islands, and Slaver's Bay we do not really get a good sense for much of the geography. Cripes, until like yesterday I thought the Stormlands were *north* of King's Landing. The Stormlands, the Vale, and the Reach are all incredibly underdeveloped in the show as far as I remember.
No, I think it would be much better to have a show that tries to capture the same spirit as Game of Thrones had before it literally went off book but set in a part of the world where Westeros is peripheral. You can have recognizable elements of Westeros in Essos, the same way you have Melisandre, Syrio Forel, the Iron Bank, and others involved in Westeros. We are living in a cultural moment here and more of the same with a cast that mostly looks the same would be a huge mistake.
No, I think it would be much better to have a show that tries to capture the same spirit as Game of Thrones had before it literally went off book but set in a part of the world where Westeros is peripheral. You can have recognizable elements of Westeros in Essos, the same way you have Melisandre, Syrio Forel, the Iron Bank, and others involved in Westeros. We are living in a cultural moment here and more of the same with a cast that mostly looks the same would be a huge mistake.
Mercurius
Legend
To me this is the same logic that wants old campaign settings for the latest edition and is averse to new worlds. Speaking for myself, I like old settings, but also like to explore new ones.
Of course with three spin-offs it doesn't have to be either/or. We know one is the distant past - not just a thousand years, but six or more.
For the other two, how about a contemporary series set in an under-utilized part of the known world: say, "Street Urchins of Braavos," or various happenings in the southern kingdoms of Westeros, or Valyria, etc.
Arya Goes West could be "America" or it could be the distant east, like Asshai. There's a whole world to explore that, under the guidance of GRRM, wouldn't just be "generic fantasy series with the GoT label" but a deeper exploration of Martin's world, and not just a re-hashing of the last eight seasons.
So the key, in my view, is to explore new territory and keep the flavor of Martin's creation. Best of both worlds.
I don't think they do an "Arya goes west". The subject is much too touchy, especially if they do it GoT style, and it would throw away too much of the Westeros we know (although that hasn't stopped movie makers in the past).
No idea if they use the "Evil Bran" idea, but that would be a major story and not simple a spinoff.
Drogon will certainly play a role in one of the series I guess. Hes too much of a plot device to not use him.
With D&D being busy with Star Wars there is a chance that they get good writers instead.
It wouldn't surprise me if internally those two will be blacklisted by HBO.
No idea if they use the "Evil Bran" idea, but that would be a major story and not simple a spinoff.
Drogon will certainly play a role in one of the series I guess. Hes too much of a plot device to not use him.
With D&D being busy with Star Wars there is a chance that they get good writers instead.
It wouldn't surprise me if internally those two will be blacklisted by HBO.
Last edited:
CapnZapp
Legend
"another series might be a terrible idea" - they wouldn't use D&D.
"There's a whole world to explore that, under the guidance of GRRM" - that guidance isn't strong enough to help bad writers, just ask D&D.
Look, the simple fact is that lightning seldom strikes twice. The best thing would be to get a storyline and ensemble cast just as good as GoT - but that has nothing to do with Westeros, and in fact, placing it there only burdens it with restrictions it simply won't face in a fresh world.
Settling for the GoT universe always meant settling for second best. Street urchins of King's Landing. Hot Pie baking hot pies. Tormund travelling south to find "the big woman". Jon travelling north to, I dunno, bone Ygritte's twin sister. Sam and Gilly raising their children much like how Sam and Rose ended the Lord of the Rings. And so on.
Pitches like "Arya goes west or "a thousand years ago" are just trying to have the cake and eat it too. They say they're set in Westeros just to draw in the audience, but then really aren't.
That to me is worse, not better.
The only compelling reason for me to have the show set in Westeros is if they, by some extraordinary circumstance, come up with a new cool storyline involving the Westeros we know and love. For instance the second season Rome storyline when our hero becomes a Thieves Guild leader - something like that could easily take place in the alleyways (and brothels, can't have a show without nekkid wimmin) of King's Landing; with the events of the big movers and shakers (the Kings and Queens, the Spiders and Maesters) as just a backdrop. Then it could slowly reveal what those moves and shakes are about, and reveal it's set maybe 50 years after GoT (so the King is more Robert than... well, you know who).
"There's a whole world to explore that, under the guidance of GRRM" - that guidance isn't strong enough to help bad writers, just ask D&D.
Look, the simple fact is that lightning seldom strikes twice. The best thing would be to get a storyline and ensemble cast just as good as GoT - but that has nothing to do with Westeros, and in fact, placing it there only burdens it with restrictions it simply won't face in a fresh world.
Settling for the GoT universe always meant settling for second best. Street urchins of King's Landing. Hot Pie baking hot pies. Tormund travelling south to find "the big woman". Jon travelling north to, I dunno, bone Ygritte's twin sister. Sam and Gilly raising their children much like how Sam and Rose ended the Lord of the Rings. And so on.
Pitches like "Arya goes west or "a thousand years ago" are just trying to have the cake and eat it too. They say they're set in Westeros just to draw in the audience, but then really aren't.
That to me is worse, not better.
The only compelling reason for me to have the show set in Westeros is if they, by some extraordinary circumstance, come up with a new cool storyline involving the Westeros we know and love. For instance the second season Rome storyline when our hero becomes a Thieves Guild leader - something like that could easily take place in the alleyways (and brothels, can't have a show without nekkid wimmin) of King's Landing; with the events of the big movers and shakers (the Kings and Queens, the Spiders and Maesters) as just a backdrop. Then it could slowly reveal what those moves and shakes are about, and reveal it's set maybe 50 years after GoT (so the King is more Robert than... well, you know who).
Presumably west of Westeros is Americos?
Westeros is - kinda - Great Britain (GRRM has even said the Wall is Hadrian's Wall, and he came up with it while visiting there). Essos is kinda continental Europe and Asia. Sothoryos we don't know much about, but I'd guess it has things in common with the African continent. So that leaves the ocean to the West, over which are GRRM's version of the Americas?
Westeros is - kinda - Great Britain (GRRM has even said the Wall is Hadrian's Wall, and he came up with it while visiting there). Essos is kinda continental Europe and Asia. Sothoryos we don't know much about, but I'd guess it has things in common with the African continent. So that leaves the ocean to the West, over which are GRRM's version of the Americas?
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