Game of Thrones wrapped its eight-season run with a divisive series finale a little over two years ago, but that hasn't meant the end of the world of Westeros and beyond on the small screen. With one spinoff officially on the way in the new year, two more are reportedly in development, but the good spinoff news comes with a bit of bad, as a different developing Game of Thrones project has gotten the axe.
At least two more spinoffs are developing at HBO Max that could bring the Game of Thrones world to animation, according to THR, which follows reports that broke months ago about HBO Max potentially exploring animation for Thrones expansion. One of the projects would tackle events set in that familiar world, but in completely unexplored territory beyond Westeros and even in the Essos that appeared in Game of Thrones: the Golden Empire of Yi Ti.
As for the spinoff project that has gotten the axe, fans hoping for a live-action series set in Flea Bottom in King's Landing are out of luck, as that project is reportedly no longer in development, although that was also said to be the project least far along in the development stage compared to other projects. When reports first broke of a potential Flea Bottom spinoff, it was simply described as a prequel series, which would have meant before Daenerys roasted it in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones, and possibly not featuring any familiar faces.
The Flea Bottom-based series is the only developing live-action Game of Thrones spinoff that has seemingly been axed at the time of writing, which would mean 9 Voyages (or Sea Snake, centered on Lord Corlys Valaryon, who has been cast for the Dance of the Dragons-era of House of the Dragon), and 10,000 Ships (centered on the warrior Princess Nymeria) are presumably still in the works.
Of course, that doesn't mean that either project is guaranteed to receive a series order, and the same is true with any new animated projects. So, why is it a big deal that one of the animated projects could bring the Golden Empire of Yi Ti to HBO Max? Yi Ti probably isn't a familiar location to even the most avid fans of the Game of Thrones show, but it's one of the places visited by the Sea Snake during his voyages.
Much like how Westeros was inspired by Medieval Europe, Yi Ti is inspired by Imperial China, and believed to be one of the most advanced and oldest of the societies in the Game of Thrones world. Hopefully that would mean less civil war destroying the realm like what happened to Westeros (with a touch of Essos) in Game of Thrones, but the sky may be the limit when it comes to animation.
The sky-high costs of Game of Thrones when it came to grand battles and effects like Dany's dragons wouldn't be nearly as high for animation. Plus, if it would be set in the era of the Sea Snake's voyages, dragons wouldn't be extinct yet, so it's possible they could turn up.
But we can only speculate for now, and no details are available about the other animated spinoff said to be in development. HBO Max has not commented on the new developing animated projects at the time of writing, and HBO Max boss Casey Bloys recently confirmed that just one spinoff was filming as of June.
Still, the streamer has had success with animation in the past, thanks to Harley Quinn. A Batman animated series is on the way as well. As for whether animation will take viewers to another corner of the world of Game of Thrones, only time will tell. But hey, if it does happen, it may still be ready for release before George R.R. Martin finishes The Winds of Winter!
For now, you can always revisit the original run of Game of Thrones streaming on HBO Max, and look forward to the stacked cast of House of the Dragon debuting their roles in 2022.
