Winter may have only just come, but it will soon be leaving television screens as Game of Thrones’ final season concludes on May 19. With eight seasons under its belt, Game of Thrones has captivated fans for almost a decade with its distinctive fantasy world. Fans may be saddened that the series is coming to an end, but Game of Thrones looks set to receive the spin-off treatment that has previously prolonged the life of the world’s favorite franchises.
Developing the history of Westeros
HBO originally commissioned five concepts for potential spin-offs, but for now, this has been whittled down to one confirmed show. Deadline has reported that work on the prequel should commence at some point in 2019. While many spin-offs occupy similar ground to the original series, this prequel is mooted to take place tens of thousands of years before Game of Thrones. While the origin of White Walkers and the history of Westeros’ famous families may be shown, you can be confident that Tyrion Lannister isn’t going to pop up in a cameo. Variety have confirmed the lead role will be played by Naomi Watts, while the involvement of George R.R. Martin should reassure fans worried that prequels won’t do justice to the original source material.
Creating shared universes and extended franchises is a common trend in Hollywood, so it is no surprise to see Game of Thrones follow suit. The Star Wars series shows no signs of slowing its growth; Disney’s new streaming service, Disney Plus, looks set to introduce a string of Star Wars-inspired shows for subscribers in the years ahead, with The Mandalorian set to debut in November. Godzilla and King Kong are set to play central roles in the development of the so-called MonsterVerse by Warner Bros, while the wizarding world of Harry Potter has been kept alive by the Fantastic Beasts prequels.
Games of Thrones
These gigantic franchises have huge potential to spin off into the gaming world, a quality Game of Thrones also shares. However, Game of Thrones hasn’t been given the LEGO treatment that is usually reserved for the biggest franchises. The worlds of Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have all been converted into multiple video games based on LEGO. Given characters’ propensity to get naked and/or meet untimely ends in the most gruesome of ways, it is perhaps not surprising that the world of Westeros hasn’t been converted into a cuddlier LEGO form. Instead, Game of Thrones’ spin-off games tend to focus on the strategic elements that characterize much of the series’ narrative.
Eight seasons is plenty of time for viewers to choose their favorites. Given that the show’s premise was set up as a competition to sit on the Iron Throne, it is inevitable that fans will have chosen sides somewhere along the way. Reigns: Game of Thrones is a themed addition to the strategy video game franchise that allows players to adopt the role of their favorite leading characters, making key ruling decisions in the hope of improving their families’ fortunes. Similarly, the slot collection at Betway includes a 15 payline game inspired by the battle between families for the Iron Throne.
Expanding the world
The family-based scheming is gripping, but many fans are yearning for a game that allows an open-world exploration of Westeros. The strong fantasy elements in Game of Thrones, from mystical powers to the significance of dragons, invites inevitable comparisons with the world created in the Elder Scrolls series. Rumors that Bethesda were creating a Game of Thrones were revealed to be false to the dismay of fans. An Elder Scrolls style Game of Thrones title from Bethesda would surely surpass the 20 million sales that Skyrim generated in its first three years of release, but for now, that is nothing more than a dream.
If fans can’t enter a virtual recreation of Westeros, perhaps they can have an even more immersive experience. Maxim reported that HBO have plans to turn parts of Northern Ireland into a Game of Thrones theme park, using the stunning scenery as inspiration. This kind of move befits a huge franchise, with the Harry Potter studio tour in London giving behind-the-scenes access and Disney set to open an all-new Star Wars land in August 2019.
The finale of the television show may mark the end of one story, but many new Game of Thrones stories are set to emerge. With the announced prequel likely to be the first of many, Game of Thrones could soon have the ubiquity of the biggest movie franchises.
