While House of the Dragon‘s third season is certainly anticipated—with a fourth and seemingly final season to come as well—the first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is what really got Game of Thrones fans excited to spend more time in Westeros. While that success has certainly got HBO thinking about moving forward on some of the other George R.R. Martin series it has in development, don’t expect any hasty announcements to suddenly appear.
Speaking to the Radio Times, HBO and Max head Casey Bloys said the network is taking a careful approach rather than rushing into anything, even with material that’s clearly in such high demand.
“We kind of take an individual approach,” said. “I don’t like to make any decisions ahead of time, like ‘we need so many spin-offs’ because I think when you do that, you put yourself in a position where you may compromise.”
Instead, he explained, “I like to do it on a script-by-script basis.”
Bloys is also well aware that Game of Thrones fans have made a habit of patrolling the internet for any scrap of information regarding potential spin-offs.
“I think one of the challenges with a show or a franchise that’s as popular as Game of Thrones is kind of anything we develop will get speculated about, talked about, and some people will think it’s an actual show,” Bloys said. “And I always do like to remind people we’ve had exactly two spin-offs… and a lot of speculation elsewhere.”
As for those hypothetical Game of Thrones spin-offs we’ve heard about over the years—could Jon Snow live again?—Bloys offered a reminder that not everything that’s been talked about will come to fruition, or even see the light of day. Remember that Game of Thrones spinoff starring Naomi Watts that HBO cancelled in 2021 after spending a reported $30 million on its pilot?
HBO would surely like to avoid that happening again. But Bloys said it’s still important to “develop a lot of things … Some things you think are going to be good may actually be good. Some don’t turn out well.”
He added, “So you really just have to give yourself that ability to try a lot of different things without committing to a show. That process of development works for us.”
In the meantime, House of the Dragon season three arrives in June, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has slated its second season for 2027.
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