David Benioff and D.B. Weiss originally wanted Game of Thrones season 8 to be three movies, but even this plan wouldn’t have saved the HBO show’s ending. Warner Bros.’ upcoming Game of Thrones movie is finally fulfilling the showrunners’ intended plan by bringing the world of Westeros to the big screen. Although the film will likely not be a sequel — and thus, will not fix Game of Thrones season 8 — it confirms Warner Bros. is moving away from HBO’s original vision for the franchise, which would see it unfolding primarily on TV.
This is why Benioff and Weiss made the final outings of Game of Thrones as television seasons, despite wanting to turn both seasons 7 and 8 into a movie trilogy. HBO was reportedly against this idea, preferring to keep the fantasy story in its television format. Unfortunately, Game of Thrones’ conclusion still received heavy criticism on the heels of its 2019 finale. Even spread out among 13 episodes, the show’s last couple of seasons didn’t stick the landing. Making the final chapters into a movie probably wouldn’t have changed this, however.
D&D’s Three-Movie Plan Wouldn’t Have Fixed Game Of Thrones Season 8’s Pacing Problem
If Six Episodes Wasn’t Enough To Flesh Out Certain Storylines, Three Movies Wouldn’t Be
While some viewers believe Benioff and Weiss’ original season 8 plan would have saved Game of Thrones’ ending, it’s difficult to imagine this being the case. After all, one of the biggest problems with the HBO series’ final season is that it felt incredibly rushed. Too many of the major developments that unfold in the last six episodes happen too quickly, from Daenerys’ transformation into the Mad Queen to the Night King’s defeat. Bran becoming king and Jaime Lannister’s regression also don’t feel earned, as they’re lacking adequate setup.
If six episodes couldn’t properly hash out all these details from Game of Thrones season 8, it’s highly unlikely that three movies would have fared much better.
If six episodes couldn’t properly hash out all these details from Game of Thrones season 8, it’s highly unlikely that three movies would have fared much better. The fact that the creators wanted to squeeze the events of Game of Thrones season 7 into the film trilogy would only have made things worse. The length of three feature films is about the same as a season of television. And the reality is that Game of Thrones needed more time to wrap things up. D&D’s initial plan wouldn’t have offered that, and it very well could have made the final season’s issues worse.
Game Of Thrones Needed More Seasons To Truly Stick The Landing
Even George R.R. Martin Wanted A Longer Run
With pacing being one of the biggest problems with Game of Thrones’ finale, the best way to fix it would have been to create more seasons of the show. Even author George R.R. Martin admitted as much, revealing he would have liked to see the series run for several more outings. He told Variety in 2022 that he suggested there should be anywhere from 10 to 13 seasons. And he’s right about one thing: character shifts like Daenerys’ and Jaime’s would have felt much less jarring with that many more episodes to build towards them.
Game of Thrones also could have used that time to flesh out more pressing storylines, like the ones centered on the White Walkers and Bran becoming the Three-Eyed Raven. There are still so many unanswered questions about these subplots, with viewers being left to wonder who the Night King really was and why Bran was destined to be the Three-Eyed Raven. A trilogy of Game of Thrones films would have had the same amount of space to address these queries as seasons 7 and 8 — maybe even less. It stands to reason it wouldn’t do so any more satisfactorily.
