The Game Of Thrones Creators Still Haven't Watched House Of The Dragon

We're coming up on the five-year anniversary of the "Game of Thrones" finale, an episode that — coupled with the rest of the fantasy juggernaut's eighth and final season and, let's be real, at least a couple of seasons before that — left many wondering if showrunners and creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss had really known what they were doing this whole time. (Even the pair themselves would later admit they kind of didn't.) But time heals and here we are, with the larger franchise having since moved on to a fairly successful prequel/spinoff show titled "House of the Dragon." Meanwhile, D&D — as they two are frequently referred to online — have joined forces with Alexander Woo to tackle another ambitious literary adaptation in the form of Netflix's "3 Body Problem."

Speaking in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote their Netflix series, the duo assured that "Game of Thrones" fans are perfectly courteous to them in real life (however they might personally feel about the show's final season). "There's an underlying decency when people acknowledge you as a person and vice versa. There's something that happens in the transition from human interaction to online that pushes things in a specifically aggro direction," Weiss noted. To be sure, there are lots of ways one can and absolutely should (thoughtfully and, if it's warranted, perhaps even with a little righteous fury as a treat) voice their criticisms of a work of art like "Game of Thrones." Thankfully, though, most people seem to understand that accosting the artists who made that art in the real world isn't the way to go about doing that.

Turns out, there's no point asking D&D for their opinions about "House of the Dragon" either — because they haven't watched it.

Having devoted a decade of their lives to "Game of Thrones," one can understand why D&D are inclined to leave Westeros in their rearview mirror for now (whatever their feelings about the overall experience are). They even turned down a producer credit on any additional "Game of Thrones" spinoffs like "House of the Dragon," despite knowing it would've netted them a whole lot of free money for essentially doing nothing. "HBO was kind of confused," Benioff recalled. "I remember their lawyer saying, 'But it's just money, we're just going to pay you.' " Weiss added:

"I don't think there is such a thing as free money. For us, if our name is on it, especially that, while being completely detached and uninvolved, it felt like the strain that would come with that hands-off approach — with its success or failure or anything in between — was not worth it."

Couple all that with their previous attempt to direct a Star War and now "3 Body Problem," it appears Benioff and Weiss are determined to put as much distance between them and the "Thrones" universe as possible. Still, it's easy to imagine they might've done something similar even if the "Thrones" finale hadn't gone over about as well as Daenerys Targaryen's (extremely short-lived) reign over the Seven Kingdoms. While some creatives are understandably content to play in the same sandbox for as long as possible (as well they should), you get the impression D&D wants to ensure there's more to their legacy than "Thrones." Best of luck to them in that endeavor.

"3 Body Problem" begins streaming on March 21, 2024, on Netflix. Elsewhere, "House of the Dragon" season 2 will premiere on Max sometime this summer.