Game of Thrones fans must be slightly confused at the moment, as there have been rumors of so many spinoffs over the past few years. Well, not everything you’ve heard about is moving forward. For example, the much-hyped John Snow offshoot is on pause for now, with the actor himself revealing that it’s “off the table for the foreseeable future” and that he was forced to step back after feeling the concept wasn’t working. HBO CEO Casey Bloys echoed this.
You’ve probably also heard about Bloodmoon, starring Naomi Watts. Set thousands of years before the parent series, during the Age of Heroes, the show’s events were meant to take place in the lead-up to the Long Night War with the White Walkers. Sadly, it was scrapped after a pilot had already been filmed. Besides that, there’s Sea Bottom, which would have explored life in King’s Landing. This won’t be happening either.
So, what should you be excited about? Well, George R.R. Martin recently confirmed that HBO currently has “five or six” spinoff projects in development. At the moment, the wheels appear to be moving in only 5 of them, so here’s what to watch out for.
5
‘A Knight of Seven Kingdoms’
Premieres January 18, 2026
A Knight of Seven Kingdoms is about the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and a young Aegon V Targaryen, aka Egg. It’s adapted from novellas by George R. R. Martin that make up Tales of Dunk and Egg, with events taking place about 90 years before A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin himself is the series creator, and Owen Harris (known for Black Mirror and Mrs. Davis) is directing the episodes.
Fans will be thrilled to know that the series has already been renewed for season 2 before its premiere. Season 1 adapts the first novella, 1998’s The Hedge Knight, and will consist of six episodes. HBO announced that it was developing A Knight of Seven Kingdoms in January 2021. However, it would take until 2023 for the spinoff to be given an order. Casting then began in October 2023, and in February 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav confirmed that pre-production had begun.
A grounded, earthy tone with a commoner’s view is to be expected, a refreshing move after all the magic and palace intrigue that has played out over the years. The show could thus be ideal for those who enjoy historical dramas but hate fantasy. “Nobody’s thinking about magic,” said showrunner Ira Parker to Entertainment Weekly. “This could basically be 14th-century Britain. This is hard-nose, grind it out, gritty, medieval knights, cold with a really light, hopeful touch. It’s a wonderful place to be. We are ground up in this series; we are starting right at the bottom. We’re not with the lords and ladies, the kings and queens.”
4
‘Aegon’s Quest’
Release Date TBA
Based on earlier passages of Fire & Blood (George R.R. Martin’s record of House Targaryen published in 2018), Aegon’s Quest is about Aegon’s conquest of Westeros. When Old Valyria falls, Aegon and his two sister-spouses, Visenya and Rhaenys, fly their dragons to Westeros, where he wages a strong and deadly campaign to unite the Seven Kingdoms. He ultimately becomes the first king of Westeros.
In July 2025, screenwriter Mattson Tomlin (known for Terminator Zero, and The Batman Part II) revealed on X that he’d written “Lots of scripts” and has been working closely with George R.R. Martin to select the best stories for the screen. The Aeogon series had first been announced in April 2023 by Variety. In February 2024, Tomlin announced that he had been hired as the writer.
Fans will enter into Aegon’s Quest with a better understanding of the titular character since House of the Dragon broadened his story a little bit. In season 1, Viserys reveals that the conqueror was the first to have a vision of an endless winter sweeping from the North to cover the entire world (the prophesied Great War between humans and the White Walkers). Aegon saw dragonfire as the best defense against this upcoming threat.
3
‘Sea Snake/Nine Voyages’
Release Date TBA
HBO is making a show about Corlys Velaryon, aka, Sea Snake. The spinoff will be about the Lord of Driftmark’s nine voyages, during which he amassed great wealth and fame. We will also see how Westeros’ greatest seafarer transformed the Velaryon fleet into the most dreaded navy in the territory.
In 2022, Martin revealed on his blog that Bruno Heller, the creator and showrunner of Rome, was writing his pilot script for the Corlys Velaryon series. He must be thrilled about that, considering that the Roman Empire tale is one of his favorite shows. The author explained that Nine Voyages was the initial title, but that they had now settled on The Sea Snake because they didn’t want to have two spinoffs with numbers in the title (The other show with a numbered title is Ten Thousand Ships).
What should we look forward to? Sea battles, high-seas diplomacy, and tussles with nature. It should be fun seeing several new lands away from Westeros. Unfortunately, the project was changed from live-action to animation in early 2024 because of budgetary constraints, with Martin admitting that live-action sea sequences and having a new port every week would have been “prohibitively expensive.” Steve Toussaint plays the character in House of the Dragon. But it’s not known whether he will reprise his role in a voice capacity. The actortold EW in July 2022 that he would love to be involved.
2
‘Ten Thousand Ships’
Release Date TBA
Ten Thousand Ships, set about 1,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones, will be about Princess Nymeria, House Martell’s ancestor and founder of Dorne. Reputed as one of the greatest warriors to have ever existed, she was occasionally discussed in Game of Thrones. Two characters from the original HBO series were even named after her: a Sand Snake (portrayed by Jessica Henwick) and Arya Stark’s direwolf. The title refers to the number of ships that accompanied Nymeria when her army traveled from Essos to Dorne. So dedicated was she that she ordered all the ships to be burned to prevent the idea of retreating.
The production status of Ten Thousand Ships had been shaky for a while. After Martin announced in March 2022 that Amanda Segel (known for Person of Interest and Shooter) had written “a couple drafts,” Brian Helgeland, who was developing the spinoff, told Inverse that everything had been scrapped. “I think they felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original.” Surprisingly, in June 2024, Martin revealed on his blog that recent Pulitzer Prize–winner Eboni Booth had been hired to write the pilot. “When not writing and producing her prize-winning plays on- and off-Broadway, she has been kept busy by me and HBO,” he said.
There is a shortage of historical drama shows starring women in lead roles, so this particular project would do much for the industry’s progress if it happens. We can expect feminist themes and a magnification of all the great traits that previous female characters in the Game of Thrones universe have possessed. Rhoynar hasn’t been properly explored either, so it will be exciting to see the water wizards and doomed cities. Most importantly, fans will have a greater understanding of how outsiders shaped Westeros.
1
‘The Golden Empire’
Release Date TBA
The Golden Empire remains in early development, though progress updates haven’t been revealed lately. Plot details remain largely unknown, but the spinoff is allegedly inspired by Imperial China, set in the ancient, wealthy empire of Yi Ti in far eastern Esso.
The mysterious realm was barely covered in the original series, so it’ll all feel like watching an independent show, far-removed from the franchise. The Golden Empire of Yi T wasn’t visited in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels either. Presumably, the basics would be mined from the extensive chapter about Yi Ti in The World of Ice & Fire, the 2014 sourcebook. The show’s writers will now bear the major responsibility of exploring the massive cities, emperors, and feuds with figures from neighbors like the Shadow Lands. Hopefully, they do it well.
“I am not allowed to talk about most of what’s happening, except to say that things are moving very fast, and I love love love some of the concept art I am seeing,” Martin said. Additionally, he revealed that a “great young writer” was working on the plot, without giving any names. More details should emerge soon.