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Most of the buzz coming out of Warner Bros.’ panel at CinemaCon has surrounded upcoming films like Dune: Part Three and Supergirl, but the studio’s presentation had one key piece of information for Game of Thrones fans: Official confirmation that the long-rumored movie about Aegon’s Conquest is at last in development.
Titled (unsurprisingly) Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest, the film appeared briefly on a slide touting the company’s projects in 2027 and beyond. It will be written by former House of Cards showrunner Beau Willimon, and tell the story of the birth of the Targaryen dynasty and the creation of Westeros (or at least most of it) as we know it today
But it’s something of a relief to know that the folks in charge have finally realized an important truth: This story pretty much has to be a feature film. Not just because of the sheer scale of events involved in the conquest of a full continent, but because there’s not really enough material to necessitate a full-on prestige TV drama in the style of the original Thrones or its prequel, House of the Dragon.
That Warner Bros. wants to tell the story of Aegon I Targaryen is a no-brainer. Known as Aegon the Conqueror, he is the stuff of literal legend, the founder of a dynasty that spawned at least a dozen confusingly named descendants, made incest a thing again, and shaped almost all of Westeros history as we know it. (His invasion literally reset the calendar; Aegon’s Landing is dated from year 1.) Alongside his two sisters/lovers/wives, Rhaenys and Visenya, and on the back of the infamous dragon Balerion the Black Dread, Aegon took control of six of the seven (er…nine?) kingdoms, and forged the Iron Throne out of the swords of his vanquished enemies.
Rumors have been flying pretty much since Game of Thrones ended that an Aegon’s Conquest prequel was one of the (many) proposed spinoffs under consideration. There’s been debate over whether it would be a movie or a TV show, with two separate projects seemingly dueling at various points. But a feature film is the right call; not only does it allow the true scope of the devastation caused by Aegon’s Conquest to be depicted, but it also means that the film will have to, by necessity, streamline its story.
Unlike a TV series, which would most likely have to feature a steady grind of regular folks getting burned to a crisp by dragons as their lives are destroyed — which is, let’s face it, the bulk of what happens in this story, it’s a conquest! — a film can reorient itself toward bigger, more thematic swings. Like, say, the House of the Dragon season 1 revelation that Aegon may not have come to conquer so much as to save, driven by prophetic dragon dreams of the so-called “song of ice and fire,” which says a ruler from the fiery House Targaryen would be needed to defeat the icy undead White Walkers.
Plus, a film budget means our first real glimpse of Balerion will be more than worth the wait.
The post Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest Makes the Most Sense as a Movie appeared first on Den of Geek.
