Game of Thrones: HBO setting sail with two more animated series; axes Flea Bottom spinoff

HBO is once again expanding its fantasy kingdom with two more adult-oriented animated series inspired by the Game of Thrones franchise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, which first broke the news, one of the projects will focus on the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, a region in Essos modeled after Imperial China.

It's also said to be one of the oldest and most advanced societies located within George R.R. Martin's epic Song of Ice and Fire. As THR notes, Yi Ti was only briefly mentioned in the flagship series, but may play a larger role in HBO's upcoming live-action GOT prequel, House of the Dragon, which features the character of Lord Corlys Velaryon — aka the "Sea Snake" (played by Steve Toussaint) — a legendary seafarer who once sailed there.

While the Tinseltown trade outlet didn't have any details on the the other animated efforts (there are now three animated shows in development), it was able to confirm that HBO is no longer moving forward on a live-action exploration of the poor slums of Kings Landing known as Flea Bottom.

Even with that project no longer vying for a seat on the Iron Throne, the premium cable network still has its hands full with a number of potential avenues like 9 Voyages (a spinoff for Corlys Velaryon), Tales of Dunk and Egg (a Don Quixote-esque tale about a knight and his loyal squire), and 10,000 Ships (an origin story for Princess Nymeria, who was the namesake for Arya Stark's direwolf).

As far as we know, House of the Dragon is the only Thrones follow-up in active production at this time. Set a few hundred years before the events of the main show, the prequel will take a deep dive into the dragon-rearing House Targaryen, which ruled over Westeros prior to Robert's Rebellion.

It's on course to debut sometime in 2022.