Writer Mattson Tomlin explains how the Aegon’s Conquest series is similar to “doing Napoleon or Alexander the Great.” Though Game of Thrones ended in 2019, the fantasy franchise is moving full steam ahead with multiple spinoff series, including House of the Dragon season 2, which premieres in June, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is currently filming. There is also the Aegon’s Conquest prequel, which has not been officially greenlit by HBO, but is in the early stages of development with Tomlin as the writer.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tomlin talked about the process of adapting the Aegon’s Conquest series, including his discussions with George R.R. Martin. Because he doesn’t have much source material to work with, Tomlin said the series is similar to “doing Napoleon or Alexander the Great or some great historical figure.” Read his full comments below:
That one is very early days where I’m currently writing the script, currently doing a lot of great back and forth with George. In speaking to George, it became really clear, “This is history, treat this like it is what happened.” Unlike the original series, I don’t have thousands of pages to go off to adapt. I’ve got a couple hundred that I’m really focused on, and in those pages of Fire & Blood , there are a lot of clues. It kind of turns into doing Napoleon or doing Alexander the Great or doing some great historical figure where we know a lot about the guy. We know where he was, we know who he conquered, we know who lived, and we know who died. That all becomes the plot, and then it becomes my job to go, but what did it mean thematically? How did it feel? What were the emotions when this person died and this person lived? We don’t have the context. We don’t know what anybody said.
How Aegon’s Conquest Is Different From Other Game Of Thrones Series
Aegon’s Conquest is different from every other Game of Thrones series in one key way – it’s not directly adapting one specific piece of source material. The original series adapted the five-book A Song of Ice and Fire series, followed by House of the Dragon, which is based on Fire & Blood. The upcoming Knight of the Seven Kingdoms spinoff will adapt the Dunk and Egg novellas. Each work is written by George R.R. Martin.
For Aegon’s Conquest, Tomlin is taking pointers from Fire & Blood. Because that book is written like a real historical record of the Targaryen dynasty, it’s easy to see why Aegon’s Conquest feels like “doing Napoleon or Alexander the Great or some great historical figure.” In the fantasy world, Aegon Targaryen, also known as Aegon the Conqueror, was a legendary leader who came from Old Valyria and conquered (and eventually united) the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros on the back of a dragon and became the first king.
House of the Dragon season 1 also expanded Aegon the Conqueror’s backstory, which should be incorporated into the spinoff series. As recounted by King Viserys to his daughter Rhaenrya, Aegon was motivated to unify Westeros under one Targaryen ruler because of his prophetic dream about a destructive winter descending from the North (predicting the White Walker invasion seen in Game of Thrones). Aegon believed that a Targaryen seated on the Iron Throne would be humanity’s strongest defense. Though the Aegon’s Conquest series won’t be based on one specific piece of source material, it still has plenty to work with.
