HBO seems really interested in doing a prequel for ‘Game of Thrones’ but here’s one idea on how to do it…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
Winter has finally arrived in Westeros, which can only mean one thing.
The end is near.
As sad as most ‘Game of Thrones’ fans are to hear it, the massive hit show will come to an end with just two more shortened seasons with the finale set to air at some point in 2018. The penultimate season 7 will debut this summer with only seven episodes with rumors that the final season will only total out at six episodes.
If there’s a bit of good news surrounding the end of ‘Game of Thrones’ it’s the possibility that HBO seems very interested in keeping the property alive by doing some sort of spinoff or prequel after the main show wraps next year.
Just about everybody has been weighing in with ideas about the potential ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel including a long list of possibilities for what story would be told from the vast history set up by author George R.R. Martin.
The easiest series of stories to point to for a potential ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel spawns from Martin’s work on “The Tales of Dunk and Egg”, which are a series of novellas that tell the adventures of Dunk — Ser Duncan the Tall — and Egg — the future king Aegon Targaryen, which takes place about 90 years before the current events in the novels and TV show.
Of course, Martin has provided some great material with those books to go along with ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, which of course is the source for ‘Game of Thrones’ but we have a different idea that could venture into a whole new territory in the history of the Seven Kingdoms.
Rather than a prequel focusing on one area of Martin’s vast history behind ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’, how about an anthology series that tells a new ‘Game of Thrones’ story with each season?
Anthologies have been big business on television in recent years with the success of shows such as ‘American Horror Story’ and ‘Fargo’, both of which have been massive hits for FX both commercially and critically.
Rather than trying to tell a single story that would potentially go for four or five seasons, why not tell many of the great tales from the history of the Seven Kingdoms over the course of 10 or 12 episodes and then move on the following season?
Martin has done a fantastic job of setting up so much rich history for ‘Game of Thrones’ it almost seems crazy not to portray more of it than just one story in a prequel. An anthology would give different show runners and actors a chance to portray a famous part in the history of ‘Game of Thrones’ while only giving a one year commitment to the series. Chances are, you’d score a high profile cast with that premise as well, not that ‘Game of Thrones’ necessarily needs that but it would open up the possibility of scoring some ‘A’ list talent much like ‘Fargo’ managed to do with Billy Bob Thornton and Ewan McGregor.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the possible stories that a ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel could tackle with an anthology series in mind…
ROBERT’S REBELLION
Following the end of ‘Game of Thrones’ it just makes too much sense for the show not to go back and tackle this infamous war that saw the Targaryen’s toppled and Robert Baratheon become the new King of Westeros. The story behind Robert’s rebellion has been told in bits and pieces throughout ‘Game of Thrones’ and this kind of familiarity would give viewers a connection to the main series while hearing the full story behind this pivotal moment in the history of the Seven Kingdoms.
The season could start at the great Tournament at Harrenhal when Prince Rhaegar Targaryen — a massively important character connected to ‘Game of Thrones’ who has never been seen to this point — won the tournament and then laid a winter rose crown down at the lap of Lyanna Stark. A year later, Rhaeger allegedly kidnapped Lyanna (very disputed by most) and that started the uprising of Robert Baratheon against the Targaryen’s.
This would also give a chance to see how the Stark family came at odds with the Targaryen’s, including Ned Stark becoming the patriarch after his father and older brother were murdered by the Mad King. Of course, Tywin and Jamie Lannister both play pivotal roles in the story as well so it all ties together nicely while still staying connected to the story we all know in ‘Game of Thrones’.
For more details on Robert’s Rebellion check out our full story from ‘Send the Ravens’
THE DANCE OF DRAGONS
The Targaryen Civil War has been mentioned on ‘Game of Thrones’ before, most recently when Shireen Baratheon was telling the story to Davos Seaworth two seasons ago.
This epic war that was waged over two years between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra saw them battling over the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. The fight saw nearly ever lord in the Seven Kingdoms forced to take sides as the two Targaryen’s declared war on each other after their father died.
The war saw a huge number of losses including most of the dragons belonging to both siblings, which is a big reason why the animals eventually went extinct before Daenerys magically hatched three dragon eggs during “Game of Thrones”.
It’s a huge story and would require a lot of effects, but the war known as ‘A Dance with Dragons’ could be a grand season for a ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel.
For more details on ‘A Dance with Dragons’ check out our full story from ‘Send the Ravens’
THE BLACKFYRE REBELLION
Another famous Targaryen Civil War erupted following the death of Aegon IV Targaryen between his natural born son Daeron II and his bastard child Daemon Blackfyre.
The fight between the two half-brothers came in large part due to their father legitimizing Daemon by knighting him and giving him the Targaryen family sword made of Valyrian steel called ‘Blackfyre’. Daemon was a great warrior and took the name ‘Blackfyre’ after being knighted by his father. Meanwhile, Daeron was a scholarly man, who sought to root out the corruption in the kingdom largely caused by his father’s reign.
The civil war also included Brynden Rivers — another legitimized bastard of King Aegon IV, who took up with his half-brother Daeron during the war — who later became known by a more famous name in ‘Game of Thrones’ mythology — the Three Eyed Raven.
For more detail on ‘The Blackfyre Rebellion’ check out our full story from ‘Send the Ravens’
THE NIGHT’S KING
This story revolves around the 13th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, who later fell in love with a woman “with skin as white as the moon and eyes like blue stars”, which led many to believe she was actually a White Walker.
The vile Night’s King eventually took his bride to the Nightford, where he declared himself king and her the queen and their unholy rule lasted for 13 years until Brandon Stark — better known as ‘Brandon the Breaker’ — and Joramun, the King Beyond the Wall, joined forces to bring him down.
Now fan theories have said for years that the Night’s King is the infamous leader of the White Walkers but that mythology has been dispelled at least in the TV show where we learned a season ago that the Night King (new name) was actually the first White Walker created by the Children of the Forest to use as a weapon in their war against the humans from the south.
Of course that doesn’t mean that this story still didn’t happen and if the name is confusing, the makers behind the show could just call this ‘The 13th‘ while revealing the true story behind this horrific marriage and a very dark period of time for the Night’s Watch.
For more details on ‘The Night’s King’ check out our full story from ‘Send the Ravens’
Those are just a few of the stories that could be told in a ‘Game of Thrones’ anthology prequel but there are literally dozens more that could make up any number of seasons on the show — including a season devoted to “The Tales of Dunk and Egg”.
There’s so much history in George R.R. Martin’s stories that it seems unfair to only focus on one of them when you could tell several over the course of a few seasons. While any ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel will be welcomed by fans, why not offer up a different story each season with an anthology?
There was even an encyclopedia released a couple of years ago titled ‘The World of Ice and Fire’, where a pair of ambitious writers (along with collaboration from George R.R. Martin) told an extensive history behind the stories prior to ‘Game of Thrones’. The prequel could really just be an extension of this book with a limitless number of stories to tell season after season in the anthology.
