Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss have shared their original pitch for wrapping up the mammoth HBO fantasy show.
The first six seasons had 10 episodes each, but seasons 7 and 8 were shorter at seven and six episodes, respectively. However, Benioff and Weiss have revealed to WSJ Magazine that, instead of the final two seasons, they wanted to do a trilogy of movies.
They were shut down by executives, who told them that HBO stands for 'Home Box Office' and not the 'Away Box Office'.
Related: Game of Thrones prequel The Hedge Knight reveals release window and plot details
Considering the backlash the final two seasons, especially season 8, faced for feeling rushed, condensing the story further into three movies may have resulted in even more ire from fans.
The shot-down pitches went both ways, however, as executives from AT&T (the phone company that owned Warner Bros, which still owns HBO) wanted the show to be filmed vertically for watching on phones, even though phones can be orientated horizontally for watching videos.
AT&T also wanted there to be "snackable" bite-sized episodes of Thrones created for mobile viewers to watch.
Related: Cancelled Game of Thrones spinoff shares look at Naomi Watts' character
Speaking about the environment that led to behind-the-scenes clashes at the time, Weiss said: "Dysfunction kills more projects than anything else, whether it’s interpersonal dysfunction or institutional dysfunction."
Benioff added: "When you sign a five-year deal with a company, you want that company to be stable so you can be left alone to do your work and not have to worry about it being bought by the phone company.
"Finding the smoothest ride in the ocean was key."
Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are available on DVD and Blu-ray. House of the Dragon airs on HBO in the US, and on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.
April 2024 gift ideas and deals
How to watch Dune: Part 2 at home right now
Best refurbished phones you can buy in 2024
Buy Cat Deeley's This Morning outfits
Bluey-themed family dinners launch at Gousto
Shop Sky TV, broadband and mobile
Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer and resident Welsh person at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016.
In his time he's covered a host of live events, interviewed celebrities big and small and crowbarred a countless amount of great/awful (delete as appropriate) puns into articles.
A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe's main interest is in video gaming. Although particularly a PlayStation gamer, he plays across Xbox, Nintendo and PC/Steam Deck, and likes to keep tabs on many games he's not got the time to play.
Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish (which you really should do).
