Daenerys riding Drogon in Game of Thrones
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Dani Kessel Odom
Published Jan 31, 2026, 8:15 PM EST
Dani Kessel Odom (they/them) is an autistic lead writer on the New TV team, focusing on writing and content planning for streaming shows. They often assist with Classic TV coverage, as well.
They have covered events, such as Denver Fan Expo. Their articles have also been shared by professionals in the field, such as Damien Leone and Lucy Hale.
In university, they majored in English Writing with a minor in psychology. They have always had a passion for analyzing TV and movies, even taking filmography and scriptwriting classes in university. They also studied and participated in onstage and onscreen acting extensively from the ages of 7 to 18.
Aside from working at Screen Rant, Dani has worked as a freelance editor and writer over the past decade, often in a ghostwriting capacity.
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Game of Thrones’ upcoming show brings on the creator of another beloved fantasy masterpiece, and his new spinoff is bound to change the franchise forever. Over the years, many fantasy shows have made their mark on the genre. However, few have had as lasting an impact as Game of Thrones.
The franchise has only continued to grow since the original series debuted. Two spinoffs have been released, House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The former has two seasons with a third on the way, and the first season of the latter just came out.
However, many other Game of Thrones spinoffs are in development at HBO. Keep in mind that any of these could be abandoned or shelved. However, a few have been discussed in greater depth and seem more likely to come to fruition. One such project is the Sea Snake spinoff, which has been in the works for four years.
Genndy Tartakovsky Is Reportedly Attached To A Sea Snake Spinoff
House of the Dragon Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
The rumors of a show focused on a young Corlys Velaron, aka the Sea Snake, and his nine voyages first surfaced in early 2021 as a live-action TV show with the working title Nine Voyages. Fans were absolutely thrilled with this idea, given the character's popularity and the many directions the story could go.
One year later, author George R.R. Martin confirmed on his blog called Not A Blog that the project was in development. However, the title was The Sea Snake to avoid confusion with two Game of Thrones shows that use numbers in their titles, referencing the Ten Thousand Ships project.
Then, in December 2023, George R.R. Martin announced on Not A Blog that the Sea Snake project in development would shift from live action to animation and go back to the title Nine Voyages. He gave this as the reasoning for the format change:
“We have moved Nine Voyages, our series about the legendary voyages of the Sea Snake, over from live action to animation, a move I support fully. Budgetary constraints would likely have made a live action version prohibitively expensive, what with half the show taking place at sea, and the necessity of creating a different port every week, from Driftmark to Lys to the Basilisk Isles to Volantis to Qarth to… well, on and on and on. There’s a whole world out there. And we have a lot better chance of showing it all with animation. So we now have three animated projects underway.”
However, details have been scarce until now. On January 30, 2026, Deadline shared that Genndy Tartakovsky is attached to the animated Sea Snake spinoff, though it’s important to note that the interviewee, Chairperson and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, Casey Bloys, would not speak to Game of Thrones projects that were in development, so it couldn’t be confirmed.
Genndy Tartakovsky is the perfect person to join the project, given his incredible career. He’s the brilliant mind behind some of the most memorable Cartoon Network shows. He created, produced, directed, and wrote Samurai Jack, Primal, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Dexter’s Laboratory. He also produced and directed Powerpuff Girls. His incredible work has led to many awards, including 5 Primetime Emmys. He won:
- The 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Animated Project for Primal
- The 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for Primal
- The 2005 Emmy for Outstanding Animated Project (For Programming One Hour or More) for Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume 2
- The 2005 Emmy for 2005 Emmy for Outstanding Animated Project (For Programming One Hour or More) for Samurai Jack
- The 2005 Emmy for Outstanding Animated Project (For Programming One Hour or More) for Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume 1
Tartakovsky’s shows are ones that people continue to speak about years and decades later. Not only are they smart and captivating, but they’re visually stunning. Samurai Jack, in particular, is considered a fantasy masterpiece by most critics and many audience members. The action sequences are well-choreographed and animated, which would benefit the Nine Voyages TV show.
Nine Voyages Would Be The First Animated Game Of Thrones Spinoff
Joffrey sitting on the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones
According to George R.R. Martin, three animated Game of Thrones shows are in the works. They originally had four unnamed projects, and two got shelved. Back in 2021, The Hollywood Reporter mentioned that one animated show could be about the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, but it’s unclear whether this project is among the non-shelved ones referenced.
The third active animated show is Nine Voyages, which is the only one with a publicly shared name and description. As such, it’s highly likely that Nine Voyages will be the first animated Game of Thrones spinoff series. The only animated project before this is the featurette called Game of Thrones: Conquest & Rebellion: An Animated History of the Seven Kingdoms.
Steve Toussaint, who played an older version of Corlys Velaryon, hopes to play a small role in the animated prequel (via Entertainment Weekly).
If the show moves forward, Nine Voyages could potentially be used as a gauge to decide whether or not to move forward with the other two animated shows, though that’s just speculation on my part.
Animation Is The Perfect Medium To Expand The Game Of Thrones Universe
When it comes to live-action TV shows, the Game of Thrones franchise is limited in what storylines it can pursue. It has been 15 years since the show ended, so the actors in the series have aged or moved on to new projects. The cast’s careers have absolutely boomed due to the success of the original TV show.
As such, the creative minds working on Game of Thrones must take into consideration whether the original actors can be involved in the project. For example, Emilia Clarke has stated she won’t work in fantasy again, so they can’t do any live-action prequels or sequels without recasting Khaleesi, which might upset fans. However, animation opens up the Game of Thrones universe to a whole world of storylines.
They don’t have to worry about actors’ availability, appearance, or willingness to join the project. They could simply get permission to use the actors’ likenesses and have a different person voice them. Alternatively, they could make the characters as book-accurate as possible without worrying about finding an actor to match the appearance.
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Subscribing to the newsletter delivers focused coverage of Game of Thrones spinoffs — from animated projects and creators attached to production and franchise implications — plus clear, contextual reporting on related franchise developments. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.Additionally, animation allows HBO to produce more shows with less investment. While the format is usually extremely expensive, Game of Thrones is one of the few shows where live-action would cost more than animation.
The budget for the original Game of Thrones ranged from about $50 million to $100 million per season. It was one of the most expensive TV shows of all time. The budget for House of the Dragon season 1 bumped up to $200 million. The most recent spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, scaled down the budget to about $60 million per season
Comparatively, Arcane broke the record for the most expensive animated TV show of all time, costing roughly $250 million for 2 seasons. However, Arcane only came out to this price tag because it was made by a video game company rather than a Hollywood animation studio, which would have cost less (via Collider).
Even if for some strange reason Game of Thrones went that route, it would put the seasons on par with the original show. However, it’s more likely it would cost closer to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms based on Animation Iconic’s breakdown of usual production costs for animated shows.
Realistically, the animation route is much more sustainable for a franchise like Game of Thrones, and it opens up so many more opportunities than they could have sticking solely with live-action. HBO would be able to produce multiple more TV shows and potentially explore existing characters.
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Game Of Thrones
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Drama Action Adventure Fantasy Release Date 2011 - 2019-00-00 Showrunner David Benioff, D.B. Weiss Directors David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff Writers D.B. Weiss, George R.R. Martin, David Benioff Franchise(s) Game of Thrones
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