HBO once spent $42M making a failed ‘Game of Thrones’ spinoff

HBO once spent serious money on a Game of Thrones spinoff that was then cancelled and suddenly I don’t feel so bad about my own expensive mistakes.

When I was 18, a friend and I spent a large amount of money on an AirBnb in Havana, Cuba, ended up not going on the trip, and didn’t get a refund. What I’ve never done is spend millions on a failed TV spinoff so thanks for making me feel better about my life, HBO.

News broke this week that HBO scrapped a Game of Thrones spinoff but not before they shot a pilot that cost $30 million (AUD $42 million). “They had spent over $30 million on a ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel pilot that was in production when I got there,” Bob Greenblatt, former WarnerMedia entertainment chairman said in the new HBO book Tinderbox, as per Insider.

“And when I saw a cut of it in a few months after I arrived, I said to (HBO boss Casey Bloys), ‘This just doesn’t work and I don’t think it delivers on the promise of the original series.’ And he didn’t disagree, which actually was a relief. So we unfortunately decided to pull the plug on it. There was enormous pressure to get it right and I don’t think that would have worked.”

The prequel had some strong talent involved in it: Australian Oscar nominee Naomi Watts led the cast and Jane Goldman (Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: First Class) was the writer.

HBO eventually found a GoT prequel that worked. House of the Dragon is set to hit our screens next year, created by Ryan Condal and directed by Miguel Sapochnik.

“I’m the one who encouraged Casey to greenlight it to series,” Greenblatt revealed in the book about the House of the Dragon spinoff. “I said, ‘Let’s not risk $30 million on a pilot.’ You can’t spend $30 million on a pilot and then not pick it up. So I said, ‘Let’s not make a pilot. Let’s get a great series that we feel good about, and just make it. Or not.'”

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Check out the trailer for House of the Dragon:

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