Canceled Game Of Thrones Spin-Off Was Inspired By A Classic Fantasy Adventure
All "Game of Thrones" fans know the words Valar Morghulis, a Valyrian saying for "All men must die." That phrase almost proved prophetic when it came to HBO's attempts to whittle down the many spin-off shows at various stages in development over the years. Although "House of the Dragon" survived the culling to earn a second season, several others — the Jon Snow-centric series, an untitled prequel starring Naomi Watts (which actually filmed a full pilot episode before being scrapped), and even a show set in the slums of King's Landing, Flea Bottom — were doomed to the chopping block.
One of the more fascinating concepts, however, involved a famous figure from Westerosi history known as Nymeria. Titled "Ten Thousand Ships" (oddly apt for a franchise with so many, ah, intense romances), this, too, never coalesced and we've never known why. Luckily, the folks over at Inverse recently had the chance to sit down with writer Brian Helgeland, known for "A Knight's Tale," Tony Scott's "Man on Fire," and, at one point, "Ten Thousand Ships." Apparently, fans could've expected a biblical epic borrowing from a mix of influences – the Old Testament tale of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt, Ray Harryhausen's "Sinbad" films, and "The Odyssey." According to Helgeland:
"Essentially, it was the story of Moses, but swapping him out for Nymeria. Her country gets ruined and her people are forced to live on the water, which is why the show was called 'Ten Thousand Ships.' They end up having to leave and find a new home like the Israelites leaving Egypt. She's leading all these people, trying to hold everyone together, but things are always in danger of falling apart as they travel around a fictionalized version of the Mediterranean, looking for a new home to settle in."
Ten Thousand Ships ran aground, despite George R.R. Martin's approval
Now that we know exactly what "Ten Thousand Ships" would've been about (/Film's Danielle Ryan previously wrote up an explainer on Queen Nymeria's whole deal), what about the reasons why the series never made it across the finish line? Apparently, writer Brian Helgeland has an explanation for that, too. As he stated later on in the interview, "It came out great, but I think they felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original." In terms of the timeline, this series would've taken place roughly a millennia before the events of the original "Game of Thrones," making this the furthest-flung project ... that is, outside of the aforementioned scrapped show starring Naomi Watts, set during an ancient time period thousands of years in the past.
He went on to describe the general setting of "Ten Thousand Ships" as a "big floating city," one where characters would occasionally step foot on solid ground in search of their "Promised Land," but otherwise retreat to the sea once others drove the refugees away. Intriguingly enough, this premise caught the eye of original author George R.R. Martin himself, but even his seal of approval wasn't enough. According to Helgeland:
"I met with George R.R. Martin to pitch him the idea, which he signed off on. Sadly, I didn't work with him closer, but I would have done if the show was picked up. It was kind of like Ray Harryhausen's 'Sinbad' films mixed with 'The Odyssey.' My work is still there if HBO wants to pick it up. I enjoyed my time developing it, and you just never know."
In other words, what is dead may never die. I, for one, would still love to see this.