‘GoT’ Prequel: Did HBO Cancel Due To Sexism Or Story?

ByGeorgia Makitalo
Emilia Clarke, Daenerys Targaryen, GoT-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZeYjbsDHpQ

Recently, TV Shows Aces has reported that Game of Thrones has been in the news as one prequel was axed, while another was sent to series. But, there has been widespread criticism. HBO is accused of sticking with the boy’s club, by canceling a highly anticipated, female-led GoT prequel. But, could story really be behind the cancelation?

Female-Led GoT Prequel Canceled, Male-Led GoT Prequel Pushed To Series

There has been a cornucopia of Game of Thrones news in the past week. Emilia Clarke has been out promoting her movie Last Christmas, so Coffeegate has been a big topic. But, news from HBO has also kept GoT in the news. TV Shows Ace has reported that the female-led, Naomi Watts and Miranda Richardson prequel was axed. Then, a previously unannounced Targaryen prequel was sent to series.

This was very surprising news. Emilia Clarke actually called it “astonishing.” First, because The Long Night, or the other tentative title, BloodMoon had already filmed a pilot. This was a highly promoted prequel. This was surprising as House Of the Dragon had never been mentioned until it went to series. In fact, this testosterone-heavy team have not even filmed a pilot for the Targaryen prequel. No actors have been announced. But, HBO creative department must have been given a head start, as they shared a very GoT-looking motif created to promote this series, unlike The Long Night, which had no graphics at all. Was it because of sexism?

IndieWire boldly accused HBO of sexism. “After canning a female-led Game of Thrones prequel series, HBO announced House of the Dragon — a prequel series by men, and likely for men.”

But, is it equally possible that there was another reason that one prequel made it to series?

Did HBO Fail In Sharing GoT Prequel Synopsis?

One of the biggest problems with the Naomi Watts-led prequel, The Long Night, was the impression that this was a sort of prehistoric Game of Thrones. The prequel time period was 5,000 years prior to the events of GoT. There were rumors that this was about the “first man, and in other descriptions “The golden Age of Heroes.” Was this the era of the Ancient Greeks and Romans? Were there cavemen and women? That was not clear. There were mixed rumors on whether it even took place in Westeros.

This was to be the original history of the Starks and Lannisters. But, in some descriptions, Watts was to be a “mystery woman” of some consequence. What seemed to be uniform was that there would be White Walkers and the high-profile Watts would star. What also was prevalent were leaks of problems on set and in the pilot. The pilot had to be re-edited and HBO canceled the series after they saw the second edit.

Although George R.R. Martin was heavily involved with The Long Night,  Jane Goldman ultimately wrote the pilot and was the showrunner in this ill-fated series.  This differs greatly from the House of the Dragon. This series is based on George R. R. Martin’s recent novel, Fire & Blood.  Although Martin was involved in both prequels, is it possible that HBO felt that there was more of a story framework with the Targaryen series as the series writers had something to work with?

Was The Lack Of A George R.R. Martin Behind Cancelation?

HBO has been dealing with a lot of GoT problems. Besides the lack of women involved with GoT, and some major sexist story issues, the biggest complaint with the last two seasons was story. Game of Thrones Season 8 was rife with issues. As Martin did not complete The Winds of Winter, it seemed that the GoT writers had storyline issues and consistency problems. Martin may have given the writers some sort of synopsis, that clearly was not enough. The series ended with numerous complaints and is considered one of the worst endings in television history. HBO is stuck with that reputation hanging over them. They may not have wanted to start out with this problem.

HBO may have decided to take the prequel with the Martin book to series. Even in descriptions of each prequel, the one with the novel seemed more solid and assured in their storyline. Martin may have lamented the loss of The Long Night, but there may have been nothing that he could have done to save this. That is, unless he wrote another book.

Game of Thrones fans, what do you think was behind the HBO cancelation of the Naomi Watts prequel? Do you think it is possible that the lack of a George R. R. Martin book could be behind this? Be sure to check back with TV Shows Ace for the latest GoT news.

Georgia Makitalo
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