Warner Bros. says Winter is Coming… to the big screen…
Though the impending Warner Bros. Discovery Paramount Skydance merger is getting a lot of the headlines concerning what may (or may not) be part of their future plans, it apparently isn’t stopping some of the pre-existing plans that have been in the works.
Today comes news that Game of Thrones is likely to be heading to the big screen. There have been rumours of such a plan for a while, though no real details. As the main series headed into its original endgame, around 2013, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss had pitched the idea of finishing the epic tale with three big movies, though HBO nixed that idea as the series was such a lucrative part of their programming . Now, the Hollywood Reporter and Page Six Hollywood say that Warner Bros. is officially developing a movie set in Westeros with writer Beau Willimon – who worked on Andor and House of Cards – with the idea of being of a similar scope to the likes of Dune.
Other shows, expanding on George R R Martin’s brutal world of mythical empires and conflict, have had mixed success. House of the Dragon has done well, but will finish with a third run later this year. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms just finished its initial run on HBO and is already working on a second. However several of the earlier proposed spin-offs failed to go into production.
It is not known what the story or exact setting of the film would be, but there are rumours it will pivot around the character of Aegon I, the first Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and the person who originally ignited the powerful Targaryen dynasty. Paramount boss David Ellison is a notable fan of Martin’s work, so it seems the film and the much-discussed sequels/prequels remain strong possibilities – one with Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) – and could still all have a place on the screen.
All of this development news comes while George R R Martin focuses on projects other than writing the literary ending to his Game of Thrones saga. Fans of the books have waited over a decade for him to present his own ending (which would differ from the tv show), but it would seem his priorities lie elsewhere at the moment.
That being said, the screen versions are starting to look very promising…