Game of Thrones’ next expansion may be an animated drama series bound for HBO Max

Until Daenerys and the dragon laid waste to it, King's Landing looked pretty awesome glimmering in the sunlight of Game of Thrones' live action. But what would it — and the rest of Westeros — look like in animated form?

HBO Max may be planning to answer exactly that question, according to a new report that pegs an animated series — based on the iconic George R.R. Martin creation and aimed at a grown-up audience — in the early stages of development. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “multiple sources” have confided that HBO Max is holding meetings with writers for the “adult-leaning project, which would be similar in tone” to the flagship GoT series that ran for eight seasons on HBO.

The same report cautions that “no deals have been made,” and that “there’s still a possibility that the animated series never comes to fruition.” Likewise, there’s no early word on when in the Westeros timeline — or exactly where — a mature-themed ‘toon version of the series, based on Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy book cycle, might be set.

With an extended reach into living rooms now that HBO Max is up and running as a premium streaming platform, finding new stories to tell in Martin’s larger Game of Thrones universe reportedly has become an even bigger part of HBO’s overall content plans. Already set to debut sometime in 2022 is House of the Dragon, a Targaryen-based live action series helmed by Thrones alum Miguel Sapochnik alongside Colony's Ryan Condal.

So far, House of the Dragon remains the only confirmed Game of Thrones spinoff with a definite development timeline, and it's bound for both HBO and HBO Max. But in its report, THR also noted that other GoT projects are still in the early discussion stages, though with no confirmation that HBO has yet green-lit them.

As reported earlier this month, one story could revolve around a live-action series based on Martin's Tales of Dunk and Egg novella spinoffs. While no deals reportedly have been set, Martin’s three Dunk and Egg books to date pick up the action about a century before the main events of A Song of Ice and Fire, and follow the story of future Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Ser Duncan the Tall, and “Egg”— aka Aegon V Targaryen, the future king of Westeros.