Game of Thrones remains one of modern memory’s most fascinating media events. Few shows reached its level of universal praise and ubiquity before becoming a laughingstock. The last season hurt audience engagement in the iconic fantasy realm of Westeros. HBO scrambled to save its most iconic franchise, leading to several planned spinoffs. Bloodmoon survived long enough to produce a pilot before the studio canceled it.
House of the Dragon didn’t elevate the franchise to the dizzying heights it once occupied, but it dug their good name out of the season eight slump. The adaptation of Fire and Blood brought many of the original series’ best elements to the forefront again. Their first spinoff held the weight of the world. The franchise could have been done if House of the Dragon hadn’t worked out. That paralyzing pressure could have prompted HBO to cancel Bloodmoon.
What was Bloodmoon about?
Bloodmoon takes place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones. The series would have depicted the legendary Age of Heroes. This distant period established the mythic stories most Noble Houses draw their lineage from. It was a golden era of conquest and victory. Humans came to Westeros during the Dawn Age. After generations of war with the indigenous Children of the Forest, they made peace and established settlements. The Age of Heroes would be distinct from previous Game of Thrones stories. It depicts epic battles against deities and monsters, tales of high fantasy, and several foundational myths of Westeros. The books barely dig into those narratives. As expected, Bloodmoon wouldn’t stay in the period of high adventure for long.
The Age of Heroes ends abruptly in the sudden terror of the Long Night. While the Children of the Forest fought humanity, they wielded their dark magic to transform a man into a twisted zombie. He was the first white walker. Some 2,000 years after humans signed the Pact with the locals, the white walkers invaded from the North. A freezing winter covered Westeros, snowing without end for a generation. Crops died in the fields as innocents froze in their homes. White walkers stormed the countryside, murdering anyone they encountered. Every human they killed rose as a wight, transforming victims into an endless undead army. Humanity and the Children of the Forest allied and defeated the white walkers at the Battle of the Dawn. They constructed the Wall to keep them confined to the frozen North. It’s a period of horror and darkness that could have snuffed out all living things. It would have made a fascinating fantasy show.
Who was involved in Bloodmoon?
Bloodmoon got further than most potential spinoffs. HBO announced a cast, several behind-the-scenes professionals, and produced a pilot. While some names inspired hope in the premise, others were less impressive. Here’s a list of some of the talent attached to Bloodmoon:
- Noami Watts as Morven Casterly: This top-billed star is likely best-known for films like King Kong, Mulholland Drive, and Birdman. Her character is new to the franchise. House Casterly is mentioned in the books, but none of its members are named. Morven would be the mother of Amy McPherson’s Aurelia.
- Josh Whitehouse as Stark: The star of Poldark and Netflix’s The Knight Before Christmas would have portrayed an unnamed member of House Stark. This is one of many deviations from the book because the first member of House Stark should be Brandon the Builder, who constructed the Wall after the Long Night.
- Jamie Campbell Bower as Lann the Clever: This Stranger Things star would’ve portrayed the legendary progenitor of House Lannister. His story involves swindling House Casterly out of their ancestral home, which likely would’ve taken up some of the plot.
- Jane Goldman: The screenwriter behind films like Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, and Kingsman: The Secret Service wrote the Bloodmoon pilot.
- S. J. Clarkson: The director of the Bloodmoon pilot made her feature debut as director, writer, and executive producer of Madame Web.
Why didn’t Bloodmoon come out?
Though HBO produced a pilot, fans never saw it. HBO executives responded negatively to the pilot, seemingly rejecting it outright. No sources have mentioned the issues with Bloodmoon, but it was almost instantly killed. George R. R. Martin has never seen the pilot. HBO announced that it wouldn’t move forward with Bloodmoon. The studio swiftly followed that by announcing House of the Dragon, ordered to series without a pilot. Without having seen the pilot, it’s impossible to speculate what went wrong. The limited details suggest substantial deviations from the books and a unique tone.
The showrunners of Game of Thrones enjoyed a massive library of source material. Bloodmoon would have been based on scant references and occasional backstory details to create a story. The spinoff had the weight of the world on its shoulders, leading HBO to gravitate toward a safer bet. Their gambit worked out, as House of the Dragon saved the franchise. The world may never know what Goldman and Clarkson might have created in the Age of Heroes.