Updates about the upcoming Game of Thrones shows have been so all over the board between the Jon Snow show being scrapped and the casting of Duck and Egg for a different spinoff being announced. Now, we’ve gotten details about another spinoff that was in the works, 10,000 Ships. While the future of the show is murky at best, these new details proved to me that the series really should be greenlighted by HBO, because it sounds epic.
Opening up about the details of his show 10,000 Ships, screenwriter Brian Helgeland explained the concept for his Game of Thrones show and its current status at HBO to Inverse. While it looks like HBO isn’t moving forward with it, the overview the writer shared made me think that it really should be worked on more because it has major potential:
It came out great, but I think they felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original. That’s why it hasn’t been picked up yet, but nothing is ever dead. My script was based on Queen Nymeria and this little blurb about her that was in a Westeros encyclopedia.
When he says “too far removed” he might be referring to the fact that the story of Queen Nymeria takes place 1,000 years before Game of Thrones. However, timelines aside, the show sounds very compelling, even if it's not directly tied to the world of Westeros we know.
The writer found out about this character and her story through the Westeros encyclopedia. Continuing to speak about this show, Helgeland said:
Essentially, it was the story of Moses but swapping him out for Nymeria. Her country gets ruined and her people are forced to live on the water, which is why the show was called Ten Thousand Ships. They end up having to leave and find a new home like the Israelites leaving Egypt. She’s leading all these people, trying to hold everyone together but things are always in danger of falling apart as they travel around a fictionalized version of the Mediterranean, looking for a new home to settle in.
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I love the parallels he’s making to Moses’ tale, I also think it would be enthralling to watch a story of survival like this. To see a woman leading her people so far would be intense, and there’s no doubt in my mind that every episode would involve new and intriguing challenges. Since they’re always on the move, everything would be changing, and the uncertainty that comes with that makes for a show I’d love to watch.
For context, Nymeria is part of the House Martell, and she eventually ruled over Dorne for decades. If you remember, Oberyn Martell (who was played by Pedro Pascal in the GOT cast) is from Dorne, he played a vital role in Season 4 of Game of Thrones, and he had one of the most gruesome GOT deaths. Also, in the flagship fantasy, the Queen’s name, Nymeria, was the name of Arya’s direwolf. So, she has a few subtle yet meaningful connections to the original series.
Continuing to break down the details for 10,000 Ships, Brian Helgeland said:
Their life was nomadic. Living in a raft city that was bound together, this big floating city. Sometimes, the characters would come ashore, but they ultimately get driven off the land as they search for a home, their version of the promised land.
That sounds excellent to me! I’d watch that show even if it wasn’t related to Game of Thrones. However, its Westeros connection certainly makes things more interesting. Adding more reasons for why this show should be greenlighted, the writer explained that the original GOT author was a fan of his idea too, saying:
I met with George R.R. Martin to pitch him the idea, which he signed off on. Sadly, I didn’t work with him closer, but I would have done if the show was picked up. It was kind of like Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad films mixed with The Odyssey. In a way, Nymeria is Odysseus, but instead of a 12-person crew, she’s responsible for every citizen in this floating city-state. My work is still there if HBO wants to pick it up. I enjoyed my time developing it, and you just never know.
He’s right, you never know what will happen with a show. So, hopefully, something will happen with this. The scope of the series sounds grand, and Nymeria’s journey seems like one that would fit perfectly into the televised world of Westeros.
Fingers crossed that we’ll get some positive updates about 10,000 Ships, because, as Helgeland said “nothing is ever dead.” If we learn more about the prequel series, we’ll be sure to keep you posted. In the meantime, you should be getting excited for our upcoming trip to Westeros, because GOT’s greenlighted and going prequel, House of the Dragon Season 2, will premiere on the 2024 TV schedule on June 16.
