The tumult at Warner Bros. Discovery hasn't spared the Game of Thrones franchise.
George R.R. Martin has revealed that some of the planned Game of Thrones spinoffs have been "shelved," which he blamed on recent changes at HBO Max.
On his blog, the author shared that while there are more Thrones spinoffs in development beyond House of the Dragon, none of them have been officially greenlit.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
"A couple have been shelved, but I would not agree that they are dead," he added. "You can take something off the shelf as easily as you can put it on the shelf. All the changes at HBO Max have impacted us, certainly."
Martin didn't specify which spinoffs have been shelved. But his update comes at the end of a tumultuous year for HBO Max after the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has since instituted numerous cost-cutting measures, including scrapping a nearly completed Batgirl movie that was intended for HBO Max and pulling various shows like Westworld off the service. HBO Max will also merge with Discovery+ in 2023.
But it was still surprising to see all of this seemingly affect HBO's flagship franchise, too. House of the Dragon was a major success for HBO this year, and no fewer than seven other Thrones spinoffs have been discussed, though it was never expected that all of them would make it to air. "Not all, no, it is never all but more than one," Martin previously said. "I certainly hope so." Among the potential projects include a series about the Sea Snake from House of the Dragon and a Jon Snow sequel series starring Kit Harington.
For now, though, House of the Dragon's second season is moving forward, and it's expected to air — likely sometime in 2024 — before any other possible spinoffs debut.
