Game Of Thrones Was Supposed To End With A Trilogy Of Movies – But HBO Killed The Plan
Somewhere out there is a multiverse full of infinite possibilities, but every one of them likely ends in fans being profoundly disappointed by the ending of "Game of Thrones." All that's different is that, in some of them, viewers ended up throwing junk at their television screens in anger as we did once the final season came to a divisive end in 2019. For others, according to new reports, they would've had to contend with a whole trilogy of blockbuster movies that brought the epic tale to an end on the big screen — likely to the chagrin of the other half of the audience. Because, as we know, there's nothing we love more than to viciously turn on all the entertainment we once loved so much. I'm as guilty of this as anybody else!
Okay, technically speaking, we previously heard rumors that "Game of Thrones" was once envisioned to end in a trilogy of movies in place of a truncated final season that absolutely nobody on Earth had any issues with whatsoever. Now, that tidbit's been confirmed once and for all straight from the horses' mouths. Writers and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have already moved on to their next major adaptation, the upcoming Netflix series "3 Body Problem," but that doesn't mean they aren't still answering questions about how their infamous conclusion to the HBO fantasy series ultimately went down.
In an extensive profile with The Wall Street Journal (via Variety), the creative pair opened up about their original plans to go out with an even bigger bang. But it was nixed by HBO themselves, who tactfully reminded Benioff and Weiss that HBO stands for "Home Box Office," not "Away Box Office." And, quite honestly, the final decision actually makes a certain amount of sense.
The plan that was promised
In place of the last 13 episodes of the final two seasons, imagine seeing Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen's legendary song of ice and fire come to an explosive end while snacking on popcorn in front of a giant IMAX screen. If David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had gotten their way, that's exactly how we would've experienced major events from "Game of Thrones" like the Army of the Dead smashing through the ice Wall or Dany massacring King's Landing from atop her deadly dragon (or everyone's favorite character Bran the Broken being crowned the new King).
It's a fun glimpse into an alternate reality that, ultimately, may or may not have made the ultimate reception to "Game of Thrones" any better in the long run. The primary complaint, if you remember, had to do with the series suddenly shifting into overdrive and rushing through major developments that once might've taken several episodes (or even seasons) to unfold. Does anyone really think that splitting 13 episodes from seasons 7 and 8 into a trilogy of two- or three-hour movies each would've improved anything? Not to mention that, from a business point of view, HBO would've had to make the unprecedented move of distributing the movies in theaters and figuring out exactly how those box office receipts would be parceled out — not just to theaters and the network itself, but the contract renegotiations for the cast alone would've had agents and lawyers alike licking their lips over the profits to be made.
We'll never know how an enterprise of that level of ambition might've played out, but that's just one more log to add atop the "Game of Thrones" discourse fire.