‘Game Of Thrones’ Animated Series In Development At HBO Max
HBO Max is plotting its own trip to Westeros – in animated form.
A new report says HBO Max is developing aGame of Thronesanimated series, although the report cautions that it’s still in the early stages and there’s a chance the show never comes to fruition.
The Hollywood Reporterbrings word that aGame of Thronesanimated series is officially in the works at HBO Max, which is notable for multiple reasons, not the least of which is because the original series, the upcomingHouse of the Dragonprequel, and the potentialDunk and Eggprequelhave all fallen under the umbrella of HBO proper instead of being developed for the streaming service. The prequel project that the network passed on – the one from S.J. Clarkson that had Naomi Watts attached to star – was being planned for the premium cable channel itself, so I wonder if the fact that this one is animated (and therefore sure to be viewed as “lesser” than live-action in some folks' eyes) is why this one is being eyed for HBO Max.
Details about this animated series are slim because it’s so early in the process, but the show is being described as an “adult-leaning” drama, “which would be similar in tone to HBO’s Emmy-winning flagship” live-action fantasy series.George R.R. Martin, the author and screenwriter/producer who wrote theA Song of Ice and Firenovels on whichGame of Throneswas based, is working directly with HBO executives to expand the on-screenGame of Thronesworld, so you may expect him to be at least an executive producer on this show should it make it through the gauntlet of development.
Meetings are currently being held with writers about the show, but no deals have been signed yet and no one is officially attached at this point. But I must say, an R-rated animated series set in this world has atonof potential. We saw flashes of what it might look like in some material that was produced for the home video releases, but obviously those were way cheaper than what we expect this new animated series to look like.
In the eyes of the public and its huge fan base,Game of Thrones' quality level fell off a cliff during its final stretch, leading to one of the most derided series finales in recent memory. For all intents and purposes,Game of Thronesvanished from the pop culture consciousness after that episode, so I’m very curious to see if that fan base will be excited about these spin-off shows or if they were burned so hard that they’ve sworn off anything having to do with Westeros whatsoever.
