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George RR Martin has strict warning for Aegon’s Conquest writer to avoid Game of Thrones mistake

George RR Martin has strict warning for Aegon’s Conquest writer to avoid Game of Thrones mistake

Author George RR Martin created the global phenomenon Game Of Thrones when he wrote the fantasy novel series A song of ice and fire. Set in a medieval fantasy kingdom where the Seven Kingdoms fight to become ruler of the lands, the series of novels spawned the popular HBO show that won multiple Emmys and was one of the most-watched series.

After the series ended with a widely considered disappointing season 8, HBO ordered several prequels, including only Dragon House was born. However, among the multiple prequels in development are Aegon’s conquest, which sees the origins of the Seven Kingdoms. Writer Mattson Tomlin mentioned that Martin asked him to avoid a mistake of Game Of Thrones creators.

Game Of Thrones Prequel Aegon’s Conquest Is in early stages of development

Tom Glynn-Carney as Young Aegon Targaryen in House of the Dragon
Tom Glynn-Carney in House of the Dragon

George R.R. Martin’s Game Of Thrones became a global phenomenon upon its release, as its complex politics and memorable characters attracted a global fan base. The fantasy series was known for its characters’ unpredictable deaths, memorable battle sequences, and political power play themes.

After the series ended in 2019 with season 8, HBO immediately began developing several spinoff shows set in the same universe. Potential projects included 10,000 ships based on Princess Nymeria’s journey that led to the discovery of Dorne, a sequel series about Jon Snow starring Kit Harrington, and what became Dragon House (via Deadline).

Although many spinoffs have not been made, another prequel series is reportedly in the early stages of development. Based on Aegon Targaryen’s quest to unite the Seven Kingdoms under Westeros, the show Aegon’s Conquest would be developed by Mattson Tomlin, known for having written The Batman and develops Zero Terminator.

The series, which has yet to be greenlit, is reportedly based on the book by George RR Martin. Fire and Blood, which tells of the Targaryen dynasty. Tomlin mentioned to EW,

“It’s very early days where I’m currently writing the script and I’m having a lot of good exchanges with George right now.”

Dragon House co-creator Ryan Condal is also said to be involved in Aegon’s ConquestHowever, he mentioned that this is still at a very early stage.

George RR Martin advised Mattson Tomlin to avoid a mistake that ruined Game Of Thrones

Sansa, Bran and Arya Stark in the end of Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
An image from Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

When the last two seasons of Game Of Thrones were in development, author George RR Martin had not yet completed his series of novels. The author had revealed that two more books were in development to conclude the franchise titled The Winds of Winter And a dream of spring. Therefore, the creators of the series had to go outside the book and develop their own plots.

The final season of the series was extremely controversial due to key changes made to Daenerys Targaryen’s character. The series finale is often considered a disappointment and is always criticized. Martin was reportedly not consulted in recent seasons (via the NY Times).

To avoid this mistake, George RR Martin would have had a little simple advice to give to Mattson Tomlin while he was developing Aegon’s Conquest. Much of the history of Aegon Targaryen’s journey has been covered in the books as well as in Fire and blood. Therefore, Martin reportedly told Tomlin to stick to the story. He told EW,

“In talking to George, it became very clear: ‘This is ancient history, treat it like this is what happened.’ Unlike the original series, I don’t have thousands of pages to adapt. I have a few hundred that I really focus on, and in those pages of Fire & Blood there are a lot of clues. It kind of morphs into doing Napoleon or Alexander the Great or doing some great historical figure that we know a lot about that guy.

A dragon in the HBO series House of the Dragon
A photo from House of the Dragon

Tomlin also mentioned that since most of the story was set as a historical piece, he just had to find the emotional element and imagine the conversations these historical figures in the universe would have had. He said,

“We know where he was, we know who he conquered, we know who lived and we know who died. That all becomes the plot, and then it’s my job to go with it, but what does that mean thematically? What did you feel ? What were the emotions when this person died and lived? We don’t have the context. We don’t know what anyone said.

Since the creators knew where the storyline was Aegon’s Conquest eventually, working backwards would allow them to avoid the mistakes made by Game Of Thrones.

Game Of Thrones And Dragon House broadcast on Max.