Summary

• The planned House of the Dragon spinoff Nine Voyages has switched from live-action to animation due to budgetary constraints.
• George R. R. Martin says that he s the decision to animate Nine Voyages and believes it will allow for a better depiction of the vast world and numerous locations in the franchise.
• Alongside Nine Voyages, there are two other animated projects in development in the Game of Thrones universe.

The planned House of the Dragon spinoff Nine Voyages has pivoted from live-action to animation. House of the Dragon is itself a spinoff to the HBO show Game of Thrones, which was adapted from the George R.R. Martin fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. The spinoff is set nearly two centuries earlier and follows the fall of the Targaryen dynasty. Nine Voyages, which is currently in development, is intended to follow the House of the Dragon character Lord Corlys Velaryon, also known as The Sea Snake, on a series of voyages conducted by the legendary seaman.

Ahead of the premiere of House of the Dragon season 2 in 2024, George R.R. Martin took to his personal website to share an update on the goings-on in the wider Game of Thrones universe. First, he revealed that of the four animated projects that were in development, two were shelved. He followed that by sharing that the intended Nine Voyages show, if greenlit, will be animated, which is "a move I fully," because "budgetary constraints would likely have made a live action version prohibitively expensive." Read his full quote below:

As it happens, HBO and I have our own animated projects, set in the world of A SONG OF ICE & FIRE. None of them have been greenlit yet, but I think we are getting close to taking the next step with a couple of them. When this last round of development started a few years back, we had four ideas for animated shows, with some great talents attached. Writers rooms and summits, outline and scripts followed in due course… but, alas, two of the original projects were subsequently shelved. Work on the other two animated projects continues apace, however…and meanwhile, we have moved NINE VOYAGES, our series about the legendary voyages of the Sea Snake, over from live action to animation. A move I 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.

Animated Spinoffs Are Becoming Much More Commonplace

The new Game of Thrones show transitioning to animation may seem like a surprising move, but animated spinoffs are becoming a popular way of exploring established universes. Animated shows based on established IPs have long been a phenomenon, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, decades which saw the releases of animated shows including Beetlejuice, Teen Wolf, Little Shop of Horrors, The Real Ghostbusters, and Godzilla. However, the type of in-universe production that Nine Voyages would most likely be is a much more modern invention.

The Real Ghostbusters is the longest-running of the aforementioned animated shows, with seven seasons that aired between 1986 and 1991.

Especially on streaming services, animated shows and movies are becoming a more viable way of expanding the universes of popular franchises, especially those in the science fiction and fantasy genres, which require ample budgets for live-action projects. Netflix has already experimented with the format in the 2021 feature The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf and has many other such shows in various stages of development, including spinoffs from Rebel Moon and Stranger Things. Prime Video has also explored the medium with the Boys spinoff Diabolical, as has Paramount+ with the Star Trek shows Prodigy and Lower Decks.

The difference between these projects and the animated spinoffs of the 20th century is the fact that they tend to be in much stricter continuity with the live-action branches of the franchise. In fact, two characters from Lower Decks even appeared on a recent episode of the live-action show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. With so many other franchises leading the animation charge, it makes sense that the Nine Voyages spinoff would easily slot into the format despite featuring a House of the Dragon character that has already recently been depicted in live-action.

Source: George R. R. Martin