The head of HBO cooled the expectations of franchise fans hoping for a stream of new projects.
Following a wave of rumors about the expansion of the Game of Thrones universe, HBO chief Casey Bloys offered clarification. In an interview with Deadline, he stressed that the company is extremely cautious about developing the franchise and does not intend to turn it into an assembly line. According to Bloys, the heightened attention to any news about Game of Thrones often leads to confusion.
"Sometimes, because of the hype, people start to think that if a project is in development, it means it has already gone into production. That is not the case. This is not Marvel-level — not four seasons a year or anything like that. So assumptions about development are often confused with shows that are actually being filmed."
Earlier, The Hollywood Reporter reported on two potential spin-offs: a continuation of Arya Stark's story after the Game of Thrones finale and a prequel devoted to the Conquest of Aegon Targaryen I. However, judging by Bloys's remarks, neither of these projects has received the green light yet.
"I want to make this clear: we are extremely selective in how we approach series production. We develop many ideas to increase the chances of finding a truly worthwhile story, but only a very small portion of them actually goes into production."
Bloys also recalled that in the seven years since Game of Thrones ended, HBO has released only two spin-offs — House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Two other projects — a Jon Snow series and Bloodmoon — never made it to air, even though the latter had a pilot episode filmed.
