The world beyond Westeros is about to get a whole lot bigger, because HBO revealed that the budget for its several upcoming spin-off series set in the world of Game of Thrones will be bigger than a giant ice dragon.
An article published on Tuesday from The Hollywood Reporter revealed that at “The Best of HBO” panel in Israel at the INTV conference, network executives revealed that the budget for the upcoming Game of Thrones spin-off series is on par with the main series.
“$50 million (per season) would never fly for what we are trying to do,” said HBO Senior VP of Drama Francesca Orsi during the panel, “We are going big.” By “going big,” she means possibly investing more than $250 million to expand the most popular franchise on television.
Orsi also confirmed that HBO has potentially five spin-off series planned. Back in May 2017 HBO announced four contenders, but added a fifth in September.
Jon Snow in the epic Battle of the Bastards from Season 6.
HBO confirmed in May that Max Borenstein (Kong: Skull Island), Brian Helgeland (Legend), Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass), and Carly Wray (The Leftovers) were developing spin-off shows set within the Game of Thrones universe, but there are no confirmed details about when or where these stories might take place. Orsi also hinted that not all of these series were even confirmed, saying that “three, four, five spin-offs” were in development. That could ultimately mean that only three series come to fruition.
For all we know, one could be set a thousand years before Jon Snow was ever born. Another could happen on the opposite side of the planet during Season 8. The possibilities are endless in a universe this fantastical. Previous hints and speculation do seemingly confirm that none of these series will feature characters from Game of Thrones, so different time periods and locations are probable.
In the meantime, we have a long Winter ahead of us before Game of Thrones Season 8 returns with 6 extra-long episodes to finish the series for good.
Game of Thrones Season 8 will air on HBO in 2019, probably in the spring, with the first spin-off series starting in 2020.
