HBO Spent $30 Million on a 'Game of Thrones' Spinoff It Canceled

It's hard to overstate how valuable Game of Thrones was for HBO. After its heyday of the early 2000s, the network was looking for another show to put it back on the map. What they found was the biggest TV show of all time. They changed popular culture, made new actors into bright stars, and cast a spotlight back on themselves. When the show officially ended, HBO was filled with another large void. So why not plug it up with more Game of Thrones? 

Spinoffs were announced for the show. Recently, the "Dunk and Egg" one written by Steven Conrad has moved forward. But what if I told you there was one that HBO spent $30 million on that was being scrapped? According to former WarnerMedia entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt, that's just what happened. We mentioned this book last week, but Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers by James Andrew Miller is a must-read.

In the book, Greenblatt had this to say about the spinoff: “They had spent over $30 million on a Game of Thrones prequel pilot that was in production when I got there... And when I saw a cut of it in a few months after I arrived, I said to [HBO boss Casey Bloys], ‘This just doesn’t work and I don’t think it delivers on the promise of the original series.’ And he didn’t disagree, which actually was a relief.”

A relief, but also stress because they had spent so much money on it. But just like in poker, they realized it's better to cut a loss than to feed more into the pot.

Greenblatt continued, “So we unfortunately decided to pull the plug on it. There was enormous pressure to get it right and I don’t think that would have worked.”

What do we know about the canceled spinoff? Well, it came from writer Jane Goldman and director S.J. Clarkson. This was the show led by Naomi Watts which HBO teased chronicled “the world’s descent from the Golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. Only one thing is for sure: from the horrifying secrets of Westeros’ history to the true origin of the white walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend... it’s not the story we think we know.”

That's not much! 

But it's safe to say things didn't quite get where they wanted. I wish we did get to see it. I wonder if HBO would ever consider releasing pilots and letting fans vote because I think there's a lot of room in the Game of Thrones universe to navigate different tones, stakes, and stories. Still, it's impressive they had the guts to pull it. 

Let us know what you think in the comments.