'Game of Thrones' sees one spinoff cut, but another is a go at HBO
The post-"Game" is proving to be a mixed bag for HBO.
Several reports out of Hollywood on Tuesday revealed that the "Game of Thrones" prequel pilot that starred Naomi Watts has been dropped. Deadline reported that showrunner Jane Goldman "has been emailing the cast and crew of the project to tell them that the pilot is dead."
But rather than talk about the failure of this pilot, HBO unveiled another spinoff at its investor presentation in Burbank Tuesday night. Rather than a pilot, HBO has greenlit a 10-episode straight to series order for "House of the Dragon." This series will tell the tale of the House Targaryen, but 300 years before the characters shown in the original "Game of Thrones."
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The pilot with Watts was actually shot over the summer and HBO programming chief Casey Bloys told The Hollywood Reporter "This is a pilot, so we're doing it the old-fashioned way, which is shooting a pilot. My expectation is it will be great and we'll move forward and it'll move along on a regular TV timetable."
But apparently the pilot — allegedly about the first time the White Walkers and humans crossed swords — was not so "great."
These developments come on the heels of the original "Game of Thrones" creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss announcing yesterday that the would not be creating the new "Star Wars" movie despite a big announcement from Lucasfilms in February of 2018 that the duo would oversee the next trilogy.
“We love 'Star Wars,'” Benioff and Weiss said in a statement to Deadline, “When George Lucas built it, he built us too. Getting to talk about 'Star Wars' with him and the current 'Star Wars' team was the thrill of a lifetime, and we will always be indebted to the saga that changed everything.”
The two have no involvement in the proposed "Game of Thrones" spinoffs and left HBO in favor of a $250 million deal with Netflix in August.
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Benioff and Weiss might be able to relate to the struggles that the team behind the Watts pilot is going through. The original "Game of Thrones" pilot was never aired by HBO. Of the original pilot, Benioff told the Scirptnotes podcast that it "was one of the most painful experiences of my life.”
The pilot eventually recast several roles.
"We ended up reshooting the pilot, 90 percent of the pilot was reshot," Benioff said. "I mean, it was like 92 percent, I mean, literally, so much of it was reshot that a different director got credit."
This story was updated to include information about the second "Game of Thrones" spinoff that was announced by HBO Tuesday night
