HBO Is Eyeing A ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel About Aegon I Targaryen, First King Of Westeros

The Game of Thrones universe may be expanding, again.

Variety reports that HBO is eyeing a new Game of Thrones prequel set 300 years earlier about the first king of Westeros, Aegon I Targaryen.

The project will reportedly explore how Aegon conquered six of the seven kingdoms of Westeros, making him the first ruler to sit on the Iron Throne and the first king of Westeros. It will show how he achieved his conquest with the help of his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, their army, and their three dragons.

Sources claim the project is still in its early stages but a search for a writer is underway as “HBO is keen to move forward and get it into development,” Variety reports. There is also a chance that the prequel could be developed into a feature film and then a series, though plans for that have not been cemented.

HBO did not provide comment about the report.

This is not the first time HBO has tried to capitalize on Game of Thrones‘ monumental success. The only spin-off to make it to air so far is House of the Dragon, which premiered in August 2022 to record-breaking viewing numbers. As Variety notes, the only other project to film was a pilot starring Naomi Watts about the Long Night that was swiftly abandoned.

George R.R. Martin, creator and author of Game of Thrones, shared in a blog post last December that he had “several” other “successor shows” in the works at HBO, though “none have been greenlit yet.” He explained that a number of the projects had been “shelved” due to changes at HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Hollywood Reporter also reported in June 2022 that a Jon Snow spinoff was in the works. No updates have been provided since. Kit Harrington recently admitted he “can’t say anything” about the series, though he certainly appeared interested.

House of the Dragon‘s resounding success in bringing new characters and actors to the GOT universe bodes extremely well for any other spinoff or prequel series the network has planned, even in a world saturated by franchises and IP.

If done correctly, a prequel about Aegon I Targaryen could give valuable insight into Snow’s namesake – and possibly feature an Easter egg or two about his spinoff.