HBO is returning to Westeros!
The community that made historical past with Game of Thrones and skilled comparatively average success with the spinoff House of the Dragon is now growing a 3rd collection based mostly in the medieval fantasy world of writer George R.R. Martin.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed this week that HBO has greenlit a venture with the reported working title of Aegon’s Conquest.
The story of the first Aegon Targaryen will probably be acquainted to diehard GoT followers.
(Although those that watched the first two collection extra casually may be forgiven if that identify now not rings a bell. There’s an terrible lot of lore on this franchise!)
Basically, Aegon I is the man who started the course of of uniting the Seven Kingdoms when he made a dragon-back flight from Old Valyria along with his sister-wives Rhaenys and Viseyna.
Aptly recognized as Aegon the Conqueror, this founder of the Targaryen dynasty is continuously name-dropped by different characters, notably his descendants on House of the Dragon.
History-obsessed King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) was particularly fascinated with the life and achievements of the OG Aegon, and with good purpose.
The shadow Aegon and his three dragons nonetheless loomed massive throughout Viserys’ reign, and the troubled king was succeeded on the Iron Throne by his first son, Aegon II (who was then succeeded by his nephew Aegon III).
That’s one purpose why some followers are shocked by this week’s information.
After all, the exploits of Aegon have already been mentioned and dissected on House of the Dragon.
It’s straightforward to see why some viewers would possibly really feel that that specific subject has been lined sufficiently.
But it is price noting that the Game of Thrones franchise has been dividing its fan base since the day the pilot episode debuted in 2011.
While there could have been some common letdowns alongside the approach (5 years later, the Game of Thrones collection finale has discovered few revisionist defenders), HBO deserves a world of credit score for taking a danger on two unproven showrunners and their plan to develop an unfinished collection of fantasy novels.
And even in at present’s risk-averse tv panorama, when it comes to the world of GoT, HBO execs stay dedicated to shelling out for prime expertise and permitting showrunners loads of freedom.
For the as-yet (formally) untitled Aegon collection, the community is bringing in Mattson Tomlin, a buzzed-about author who collaborated with director Matt Reeves on 2022’s The Batman, as nicely as the upcoming sequel The Batman Part II.
Tomlin is at present the showrunner for Netflix’s Terminator: The Anime Series.
So the man is not any stranger to the kind of style fare that serves as a breeding floor for obsessive fandom.
George R.R. Martin diversifications have delivered the closest factor to reliability that HBO has seen lately.
Ratings for House of the Dragon paled compared to these for Game of Thrones (the GoT finale introduced in 19 million viewers, whereas Dragon obtained a relatively paltry 2.7 million).
But the latter collection was nonetheless the community’s greatest hit of the previous two years by a substantial margin.
So it isn’t laborious to see why HBO can be all-in on Westeros.
However, there are considerations that followers would possibly quickly expertise dragon fatigue.
After all, as well as to Dragon and Aegon, HBO is at present growing A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, which is able to heart on Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg.
The collection will probably be set about 50 years earlier than the occasions of the unique Game of Thrones.
There’s loads of supply materials there, as Martin has already penned three novellas in that collection.
But as with A Song of Ice and Fire — which served as the inspiration for GoT — the writer has but to full the saga.
Here’s hoping the showrunners of the present and upcoming Martin diversifications will not have fairly as a lot bother as their predecessors when it comes to nailing the dismount!
Tyler Johnson is an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic and the different Mediavine O&O websites. In his spare time, he enjoys studying, cooking, and, of course, watching TV. You can Follow him on X and e-mail him right here at TV Fanatic.
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