Game of ThronesWants a Comeback—Does It Have What It Takes?

To say that Game of Thrones has had the stench ofits controversial endinghovering over it for three year would be an understatement , but HBO think that enough time has passed toattempt a prominent enfranchisement .

Its first successful feat at this comes in the human body ofHouse of the Dragon , premiere about two months from now , and it previously had several shows in the work that all got canned , including onestarring Naomi Watts . And just before the weekend begin , it announced its plans to bring back Kit Harrington — who ’s still possibly got otherMarvel obligationsin his future — to play the forever unluckyJon Snowin a spinoff of his own .

It ca n’t be understated how much GoT ’s end — and the final season overall — has skitter the good will the series fall during its previous seven season . House of the Dragon already has an acclivitous battle to go up as the first spinoff that will try and recapture interview ’s attention , and this new Snow spinoff , should it even come about , will have even bad betting odds stack against it . In an age where IP and fan demands launch the macrocosm , Game of Thrones did the impossible and made it so that no one would really be concerned in more of it until George R.R. Martin decide to discontinue ply traditional knowledge forFrom Software gamesand releaseWinds of Winter .

Image: HBO

Deliberately or not , a spinoff for Jon Snow feels like it ’s attempting to fall upon while the “ traumatized bearded man with a blade ” smoothing iron is hot . It ’s probably not a happenstance that this news show hit just as Disney+ ’s Star Wars miniseries focused on Ewan McGregor ’s Obi - Wan Kenobi comes to an end next hebdomad . Even discounting the futurity that could ’ve been , where Thrones creatorsDavid Benioff and D.B. Weisscould’ve worked on aStar Wars filmbefore their show ’s finale hit , HBO belike get word a mentor figure in Disney ’s infinite fancy serial . When Rise of Skywalker released in belated 2019 to a motley response ( to be really , really generous about it ) , and months after Thrones ’ finale , the salve of The Mandalorian made thing twinge just a little bit less . If Star Wars is a unassailable franchise overall , then Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau ’s flagship series for Disney+ see them get the best vest around .

Since then , The Mandalorian has become a massive hit , help impregnable Star Wars ’ success in the realm of television system with two time of year , two spinoffs of its own in the class of Ahsoka and Book of Boba Fett , and aplethora of new Star Wars showswaiting in the wings . The succeeder of the streaming series has been such that it does n’t entirely weigh if Disney and Lucasfilm ever determine toput out another film . Not only has it ensured that the enfranchisement can live on through television , it ’s taken on its own life in a mode that ’s deceptively dim-witted , yet apparently hard to double . If it were that easy to do a Mandalorian , there ’s little doubt that HBO would ’ve prove for a spinoff by now focalize on a fan darling like Grey Worm ( Jacob Anderson ) , or swung intemperately to batten down Maisie Williams for anArya Starksolo series .

More than anything , what separates what Star Wars and Game of Thrones went through during their respective divisive endings is that Rise of Skywalker ’s reception has ultimately just carry on the trend of Star Wars accept eminent highs and gloomy lows . ( In about 10 twelvemonth , the Sequel Trilogy will likely get the cultural follow-up that the prequels have had . ) Thrones had its fairish ploughshare of critique during those early season , but the final season was really where its worst impulsion and shift became highlighted in a way that could n’t be ignored . As a outcome , buy the farm away for three years , as its various role player moved on to other projects , was for the best .

Image: HBO

Image: HBO

What remains to be meet in the face of Thrones is if absence seizure really has made the center get fonder . There ’ve been several fantasy show that have successfully managed to fill the niche that HBO ’s series left behind to become big names in their own right , and HBO itself has released other bunch pleasing shows like literary hack , Our Flag Means Death , and Peacemaker . Fighting for attention has been a conflict for many show and films in this Modern , reinvigorated epoch of streaming wars . More than frosting zombies or big - ass dragons with anawareness of symbolization , the biggest scourge to Game of Thrones is if it can make itself matter again . If it ca n’t regain a manner to stage a riposte , then HBO really does sleep with nothing .

House of the Dragon premieres August 21 on HBO Max .

require more io9 news show ? Check out when to expect the latestMarvelandStar Warsreleases , what ’s next for theDC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know aboutHouse of the DragonandLord of the Rings : The Rings of Power .

Image: HBO