The Game of Thrones makers originally planned a completely different finale – and the reaction from their bosses was really stupid and condescending

The only thing that tops Game of Thrones’ monumental success in the minds of many fans is its monumentally failed finale. Season 8 still has many, many enemies in the community. As the creators David Benioff and DB Weiss now confirm, They had a completely different plan for the end of the fantasy series. They wanted to draw a line in the sand with three feature films.

The Game of Thrones makers got a stroppy response to their suggestion

There have been rumors circulating in fan circles for a long time about the originally planned cinematic ending, which was supposed to replace the last two seasons. That it didn’t come to that was apparently mainly due to the negative attitude of the producers from HBO.

Check out the English trailer for Game of Thrones Season 6 here:

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Benioff recalls that studio representatives reminded him that HBO stands for Home Box Office. And not for “Box office somewhere else“.

From today’s perspective an absurdly ignorant and condescending answer. Many streaming providers now produce films for theatrical release, and in some cases they are very successful. Due to the effects of the corona pandemic, studios have released many films as streams at the same time or in a timely manner.

In any case, HBO executives could have considered the value of three feature films, theatrical or not. Instead, they botched an answer that suggested to the Game of Thrones makers they couldn’t read properly.

Whether fans would have liked three feature films better than the last two Game of Thrones seasons is another question. But one of the reasons why the ending of the fantasy series fares so poorly for some fans is certainly the immense studio pressure on Benioff and Weiss.

Band of Brothers Universe Podcast: What is the best war series?

The war series Band of Brothers, created in 2001 by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, is still considered one of the best representatives of the genre. But the follow-up series The Pacific and the newly released thematic sequel Masters of the Air are also exceptional stories in the Second World War.

We introduce you to the three series of the Band of Brothers universe with their land, island and air battles, compare their advantages and ask whether war can be entertainment.