HBO cancelled key ‘Game of Thrones’ spinoff
In a surprising move, HBO cancelled a Game of Thrones spinoff based on Braavos years ago, according to George R.R. Martin.
In his blog, the noted author shared the details, “One of these days I need to write that story about Braavos we were developing for HBO.”
“They shelved that one a couple of years back, alas, but that does not mean I won’t go back to it… After Winds of Winter is done, of course. Maybe then I will have enough free time to visit Amsterdam again,” he teased his future plans.
It is the first time the claim about the scrapping of an untitled Braavos series was made, as per IGN.
But the alleged cancellation of the show was nothing new for the network.
It has previously shelved a string of prequels of Game of Thrones, including the one called The Long Night, despite spending a whopping $30 million on its pilot episode.
On the other hand, George lately has been vocal about his views about the House of the Dragon after the series received mixed reviews.
In his blog, he criticized the changes the makers made in season two, which were at odds with his book materials, like the cutting of the Aegon and Helaena Targaryen’s youngest son character, Maelor.
“When Ryan Condal (showrunner) first told me what he meant to do, ages ago (back in 2022, might be) I argued against it, for all these reasons. I did not argue long, or with much heat, however. The change weakened the sequence, I felt, but only a bit,” the writer said.
The 76-year-old continued, “That made sense to me, so I withdrew my objections and acquiesced to the change. I still love the episode, and the Blood and Cheese sequence overall. Losing the ‘Helaena’s Choice’ beat did weaken the scene, but not to any great degree.”
“Only the book readers would even notice its absence; viewers who had never read Fire & Blood would still find the scenes heart-rending. Maelor did not actually DO anything in the scene, after all.”
“How could he? He was only two years old. There is another aspect to the removal of the young princeling, however,” George concluded.
