Brian Helgeland recently discussed the current status of ‘Ten Thousand Ships’ in an interview with Inverse. He explained the project’s details and why it was paused:
“It came out great, but I think they felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original.”
The work on the prequel began in March 2022, and George R.R. Martin even finished the script drafts. Helgeland believes the show can still see the light of day although it’s indefinitely on hold:
“That’s why it hasn’t been picked up yet, but nothing is ever dead. 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 had been picked up.”
About The Planned Plot
The writer mentioned that his script was based on Queen Nymeria’s story from a Westeros encyclopedia. He explained that ‘Ten Thousand Ships’ followed a theme of a journey to a promised land much like Moses’ exodus:
“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 left Egypt.”
Helgeland also noted that the storyline would draw inspiration from the Arabian Nights and Homeric epics. It would be ‘Ray Harryhausen’s ‘Sinbad’ films mixed with ‘The Odyssey.’
Another Spinoff On The Horizon
‘Ten Thousand Ships’ remains shelved along with a canceled sequel about Jon Snow. Meanwhile, George R.R. Martin works on another spin-off series for ‘Game of Thrones.’
The upcoming series, ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight,’ will focus on Martin’s stories of Dunk (Ser Duncan the Tall) and Egg (King Aegon V Targaryen). The author wrote in a blog post in early April:
“Peter Claffey will play Dunk. He’s a former professional rugby player turned actor. And he’s tall. Ok, maybe not quite as tall as Ser Duncan the Tall, but still plenty tall, and with the magic of television… His readings were terrific. I think you’re going to love him.”
Dexter Sol Ansell will portray Egg opposite Claffey.
