Game of Thrones was a massive cultural hit for HBO at a time when its days of massive, cultural hits were in the rearview mirror. With the show finishing up in 2019, spin-offs were already on everyone’s lips.
We all knew that there would be at least one spin-off but apparently, there are multiple spin-offs including one that had $30 million sunk into the pilot only to be cut.
HBO Drops $30 Million on Game of Thrones Pilot Then Axes It
The spin-off in question was a prequel centered on the Starks and Lannisters’ ancestors and featured Naomi Campbell. That alone sounds interesting enough to build a show around. Actually, the series has enough lore and the like to float a ton of spin-offs to the point that anything vague will garner an inquisitive “Hmm.”
One ‘Game of Thrones’ Spin-Off Pilot Wasn’t Up to Snuff So HBO Flushed the $30 Million Prequel
According to former WarnerMedia Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt, HBO had “spent over $30 million on a Game of Thrones prequel pilot” that was already in production when he was put in charge of HBO, TBS, TNT, Cinemax, and TruTV in 2019.
After seeing the pilot, he told Casey Bloys—chief of content for HBO—that he felt it “just doesn’t work” and didn’t deliver on the bar set by GoT. With Bloys agreeing, the project was axed and House Of Dragon got the green light.
For perspective, the pilot to Game of Thrones weighed in around $10 million while other hits Boardwalk Empire and Westworld clocked in at around $18 million and $25 million respectively.
Of course, not every pilot HBO sinks millions into becomes a hit or even sticks around that long. Rome aired in 2005 and ran for two seasons at $9 million an episode while Vinyl—created by Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, Terence Winter, and Rich Cohen—had a pilot that cost $30 million and didn’t make it past the first season.
Meanwhile, House Of Dragon looks promising. The prequel is focused around “The Dance of the Dragons” civil war and the decline of House Targaryen. It is slated to air on HBO next year.
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