Following the roll-out of the second season of the AMC original series spinoff Fear the Walking Dead, which is franchise tie-in to the preceding basic cable mega-hit The Walking Dead, it would appear as though each and every major genre series on television would be ripe for successive spinoffs to roll out. That being said, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss might be served well to consider developing a franchise tie-in for their ever popular fantasy drama Game of Thrones for HBO.
Given the extensive amount of backstory and world-building history already intimated by the wide-ranging and complicated plotting of Game of Thrones as seen on HBO thus far, and added to the published works of supplementary prose set in the fantasy world of Westeros already written by series creator and author George R.R. Martin, there’s certainly room for expansion into a spinoff feature production. However, the latest word from the TV series showrunners has it that there are no outstanding plans as of yet to develop any subsequent programs based on the franchise.
According to EW, Benioff and Weiss are not likely to develop any Game of Thrones spinoff series based on the original fantasy drama. In the past, both showrunners have debated the inherent ingenuity of creating an entire series based on any one of the series’ outstanding individual characters, including a one-man show featuring the rogue fighter Bronn, or a half-hour comedy starring Samwell Tarley (John Bradley) and Gilly (Hannah Murray). That being said, neither of the two formerly teased potential shows appear likely to occur, as Weiss stated:
“The job at hand is too enormous and challenging to be further diffusing ourselves by thinking about spin-offs, and theme park rides, and ice ballets …but if anybody has a good pitch for a good Game of Thrones ice ballet, let us know.”
Echoing said sentiments, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo also came forward to state that the network has no intention of developing anything Game of Thrones related without the explicit interest of Benioff, Weiss, or A Song of Ice and Fire author Martin. In response to the potential production of a spinoff series, Lombardo commented:
It’s certainly heartening to hear that HBO has such faith in the ultimate vision and creative supremacy of the Game of Thrones showrunners and chief creator, even if said faithfulness may never result in a spinoff series. For now, fans can keep anticipating the season six return of the hit fantasy drama later this month.
“If that were to happen it would have to come from [Benioff and Weiss] really feeling something, or [author George R.R. Martin] really feeling that it was the right thing to do. Not knowing how this particular story ends, I don’t know. There are plenty of characters, secondary characters, [that] you could build a world around. We’re always going to be drawn to a strong creative vision. But we are not going to do that unless we feel their passion.”
Game of Thrones season 6 will premiere on HBO on April 24th, 2016.
Source: EW
