House of the Dragon has finally premiered, and with its press cycle in full swing, George R.R. Martin has spoken out about some of the troubles he felt during the production of Game of Thrones. He also briefly touched on why some of the proposed spin-offs concerned him, and it may give some insight into why Bloodmoon didn't get made.
Game of Thrones had a somewhat contentious finale among fans (to say the least), and Martin has previously spoken out about his protectiveness over his universe of characters. Recently, he mentioned not wanting to end up like Stan Lee, referring to the beloved Marvel icon's role within the company, and now he talked to the Wall Street Journal about his concerns regarding Game of Thrones production.
Though Martin wrote some big episodes for Game of Thrones, he mentions that, by the end, he was not the arbiter of the franchise's future. For instance, his insistence that the show could do with 10, 12, or even 13 seasons was shot down, and only 8 were made. While he notes that he "had no contribution to the later seasons except, you know, inventing the world, the story, and all the characters," he also states that he currently feels he has more control over and involvement with House of the Dragon. In fact, when Miguel Sapochnik, one of the showrunners for House of the Dragon (and who recently noted the show will steer away from 'gratuitous' sex and violence), was not on board to return, it was Martin who convinced him to sign on.
Martin also gave some insight into the spin-offs being developed as prequels in the Game of Thrones timeline. One of these was set to be titled Bloodmoon and was going to feature the origins of the White Walkers, but Martin felt the idea lacked promise because he had not previously written much set during that time period. The idea was eventually shelved, though Martin does say, when asked about how many spin-offs there may be, "How many shows will make it to air? I don’t know, but I hope the answer will be several, and we’ll have something akin to the Marvel or Star Wars model by the time it’s all settled.”
Currently, it's known that a Jon Snow-centered sequel is in development, as is an adaptation of Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg saga, which features Daenerys Targaryen's great-grandfather, Aegon V, as one of its main characters. Martin's reluctance to part with creative control of the franchise makes a fair bit of sense. Game of Thrones notoriously strayed away from its source material in later seasons, making changes that some felt hurt the show.
With HBO being willing to delve deeper into the mythos of his A Song of Ice and Fire world, it's no wonder that Martin would feel a measure of protection towards it. He has described the main series as his 'magnum opus,' and seeing the reaction towards Game of Thrones' controversial ending may have affected him. Hopefully, the spinoffs will be more well-received by both Martin and fans alike.
House of the Dragon airs on Sunday at 9 PM EST on HBO and can be seen simultaneous to its airing on the channel's streaming platform, HBO Max.
Source: The Wall Street Journal