Oscar-Winning Director Details Scrapped 'Game of Thrones' Spinoff

The end of Game of Thrones in 2019 left a massive void in fans' hearts that HBO would try to fill with the spinoff series House of the Dragon and a second spinoff set for release next year. But it turns out that there was yet another project in the GOT universe that never saw the light of day. 

Award-winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland, who directed the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 and won an Oscar for writing L.A. Confidential, opened up about his own Game of Thrones spinoff idea in a recent interview with Inverse. The series, codenamed Ten Thousand Ships, focused on the life of the universe's historical figure Queen Nymeria. 

“It came out great, but I think [HBO] felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original," Helgeland said. "That’s why it hasn’t been picked up yet, but nothing is ever dead. My script was based on Queen Nymeria and this little blurb about her that was in a Westeros encyclopedia."

"Essentially, it was the story of Moses but swapping him out for Nymeria," he continued. "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," he explained. "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."

"Their life was nomadic. Living in a raft city that was bound together, this big floating city," he added. "Sometimes, the characters would come ashore, but they ultimately get driven off the land as they search for a home, their version of the promised land."

Helgeland was first recruited for the spinoff while the original Game of Thrones was still airing in the late 2010s. It appeared to still be moving forward a few years ago, but HBO never officially greenlit the show, despite the book author's support. 

"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," Helgeland said. "It was kind of like Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad films mixed with The Odyssey. In a way, Nymeria is Odysseus, but instead of a 12-person crew, she’s responsible for every citizen in this floating city-state."

Ultimately, Helgeland isn't giving up hope and is a believer in never saying never. "My work is still there if HBO wants to pick it up," he said. "I enjoyed my time developing it, and you just never know."

House of the Dragon returns for its second season on June 16. A new spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, is due out in 2025.