With the final season of Game Of Thrones underway, it seems the internet doesn’t have room for much else. You may have read recently when we posted a discussion about what makes the show so special, and to be sure there could be hundreds of different answers to that question. A more difficult question, though, is the one we’re getting closer to confronting with each passing week as we race toward the finale: What then?
As much as we all adore it in one way or another, Game Of Thrones really is going to end, and despite a few attempts (Westworld, and perhaps Succession), HBO doesn’t have anything of the Thrones ilk to take its place. There’s going to be something of a void, at least at first, for GoT fans. At the same time though, there is more on the horizon – Some of it confirmed, and some of which we can guess at.
This is at least a loose preview of what might come after the story finally ends.
First and foremost, there will be spinoffs that at least allow us to stay within the world of Thrones. News on the spinoff front has been all over the place these last few years, but HBO confirmed as recently as mid-April that multiple spinoffs are in fact being developed. We don’t know many details about them (Though there are plenty of educated guesses out there), and needless to say they won’t carry quite the same magic as the core Song of Ice and Fire. Ultimately though, it’s hard to do much better than the promise of additional series that will exist within the same world. Whether we get something based on some of George R.R. Martin’s short stories, a look at Robert’s Rebellion or Aegon’s conquest, or even, in a few years, something that happens after the events of Game Of Thrones, it’s going to be exciting.
On a lighter note concerning shows Thrones fans could have to look forward to, there’s also talk of multiple series delving into the worlds that, at least indirectly, inspired GoT. Martin is on record discussing his affection for Tolkien’s Middle Earth, as well as for the acclaimed Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake – Both may be headed for TV in the coming years. Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings-related series has been confirmed (Though here, too, details are scant), and there are rumors of a Gormenghast show. Neither would be specifically related to Game Of Thrones, but they could certainly help to fill the void.
Getting back to Thrones-specific material, we also shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that there are probably more books to look forward to as well. Martin has been working on The Winds Of Winter for years now (Though making notoriously slow progress), and his intention – originally at least – was to follow this book with A Dream Of Spring, which would conclude his written series. At Martin’s writing pace, this could help to stretch the story out for years, and while not everyone who loves the show has read the books, said books could take on new significance once the show is wrapped up. Not only will people have the chance to go back and read from the beginning, but Martin will almost certainly have some twists, turns, and possibly even character arc endings that differ from HBO’s approach.
For those without patience for the books, or who might simply be looking for something more interactive, there could also be games to consider. This is one of the few areas in which Thrones has actually disappointed fans to date. Of a few mobile games, console titles, and casino arcades, all based on GoT, it’s actually the latter that has arguably reached the biggest audience and proven the most enduring. The selection of casino games on sites hosted in Oceania and Europe has become somewhat universal and contains numerous titles based on popular fiction. There, a Thrones slot game gets away with being somewhat minimalistic, such that there are basically symbols from the series used as icons on the slot reels. But in app and console forms, games have been far more shallow and less interesting than people would like to see. There really isn’t much news on this front, but perhaps in the aftermath of the finale some
involved with the franchise will be able to put more effort into designing a great game.
Finally, there’s also the possibility that in a matter of years we could do this all over again. It may sound absurd at the moment, and perhaps it is, but at the same time no one would have predicted a Lord Of The Rings series in 2003 when The Return Of The King was on its way to an Academy Award for Best Picture; now, Amazon is already teasing details. The Harry Potter film franchise isn’t even a decade past completion, and already there are mumblings that it too could be turned into a series. So, as unlikely as it may seem, we shouldn’t rule out the idea that at some point down the line Game Of Thrones gets a redo, in one form or another.
All things considered, and as sad as it is to be reaching the end, we almost certainly have a lot more of the world of GoT to look forward to.
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