A few days ago, images from the pilot of the series that HBO Max dropped before continuing with House of the Dragon leaked onto the Internet, sparking a new wave of curiosity about what could have been.

All we’ve seen of Bloodmoon are images of actress Naomi Watts, who would lead the cast, in the role of “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.” I don’t know about you, but that description gave me chills from the beginning and I wasn’t surprised when the project was scrapped. Still, seeing her as a Lannister ancestor sparked other hypotheses.

8 lines of text

Bloodmoon was in a lot of trouble from the beginning. It was commissioned at the height of Game of Thrones fever, equally close to the ardent negative reaction to the series’ conclusion, back in 2018. It was part of a package when HBO Max concluded that it was worth investing in Martin’s content as a franchise.

Although the showrunner was the respected Jane Goldman, the decision to take the plot “thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones” meant that instead of being with the Starks, the Targaryens, and the Lannisters, we wanted to know more, we were going to an unknown period in history. So unknown that even the head of the platform, Casey Blois, recognized the complexity of taking the plot to a moment in history in which the creator himself “had only written about eight lines of text”.

Well, eight lines were a lot more than David Benioff and Dan Weiss had to go on with Game of Thrones for no less than three seasons (the last one that contained material from the books was season 5), which many argue was the problem with controversial conclusion. This reasoning certainly contributed to the cancellation of Bloodmoon before it hit the air, but it did not prevent the approval of the investment of 35 million dollars for the pilot.

The origin of the White Walkers?

According to what was announced, Bloodmoon would tell “the story of the descent from the Golden Age of Heroes to the darkest hour of Westeros, also telling the true origin of the White Walkers, the mysteries of the East, and the legends of the Starks”. It gives me another chill down my spine even today.

One of the main problems with Game of Thrones was the fact that we were dissatisfied with the entire Night King plot and the war between the living and the dead. The threat of the White Walkers opened the series spectacularly, but remained lurking, surrounding Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) story while everyone else was slaughtered by Power and the Iron Throne. Little by little it gained strength, involving Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) and other characters.

In theory, the confrontation between the Night King and Jon Snow, helped by Bran, would be one of the most definitive moments in the series (and on TV). The expectation reached hysteria, so when the episode got too dark it ended up that neither Bran nor Jon were involved, but it was Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) who out of nowhere (literally), killed the antagonist. All of this in the third episode of the final season, with all the drama about who would take the throne returning.

Worse still, the Night King was never properly contextualized: we don’t know who he is, the reason for his obsession with the Three-Eyed-Raven, how and why he stole Craster’s sons, much less what he wanted. The answer? He wanted to kill everyone. Point. Hence, announcing that Bloodmoon would explain the ‘true story of the White Walkers’ hit the general question of ‘and is it still worth it’? After all, we know how it was destroyed and it was relatively easy for Arya, which doesn’t encourage us to be more curious.

Martin’s involvement

For root fans, having author George R. R. Martin involved in the creative process is essential, but we can question whether his presence is more interference than collaboration. Martin began his career as a screenwriter but was not extremely successful, moving on to books and becoming a phenomenon. From the beginning, he knew about Game of Thrones‘ cinematic potential, but he turned down initial proposals because he couldn’t ‘sum up’ the intricate plot he created in a few hours, which helped give the go-ahead for D&D to adapt the books as a series.

Martin was directly involved in GOT until season 4, supposedly leaving to finish the books, which are still on hold today. Since his departure, the most passionate believe that the quality of the series has fallen, but everyone only started to agree with this when the showrunners ran out of material to use as a basis, starting with season 6.

That said, it’s worth remembering that Bloodmoon also entered this minefield. Because he had the book, Martin wasn’t going to take the reins of the series, but from the beginning, he clashed with HBO and disagreed by referring to the spin-off as The Long Night instead of Bloodmoon.

Officially he was always on the fence about the process. He praised Jane Goldman and what she was proposing, but gradually became evasive. Behind the scenes, he supported the priority for two other series, the main one being what is now House of the Dragon, specifically the period of the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryens’ civil war. The person leading this project is Ryan Condal, who works very closely with the author and is his unofficial heir. The other project that Martin preferred begins recording in 2024, The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the tales of Egg and Duncan, which fans love. Do you understand what I’m suggesting?

Yes, Martin is much more involved with his franchise, and the fact that he wasn’t excited about Bloodmoon, preferring what he wrote himself, certainly weakened the chances of the series actually making it to air, even if he doesn’t have the final say on HBO’s strategy.

What went “wrong”?

Images of Naomi Watts dressed as a Lannister were taken by paparazzi, but other than her, we didn’t see anything else. The pilot was recorded and in theory, would air before House of the Dragon, but in 2019 came the cold water: Bloodmoon was canceled. What there was?

Nothing, the executives want us to believe. “There was nothing wrong. Development and pilots are difficult,” Casey Blois told The Hollywood Reporter in detail. The platform’s President at the time, Robert Greenblatt maintained the speech claiming that “it was very well produced and looked extraordinary, but it didn’t take me to the same place as the original series. It didn’t have that depth and richness that the original series pilot had,” he said.

But… which of the pilots is he referring to?

“Disastrous” pilot that sparks theories and legends

Apparently, “pilots” are another universe in Game of Thrones. The first pilot of the series, from 2009, is legendary in the imagination of fans. David Benioff and Dan Weiss, inexperienced and debuting with a complex project like Martin’s universe, went through meetings, rewrites, negotiations, and rejections until they “got it right” with what we saw on the air in 2012. That’s right, the pilot for Game of Thrones is not the first, but the revised version of what was originally recorded.

The experience marked the trajectory of D&D. In general, the pilot is remembered as ‘disastrous’, and the series was in serious danger of never being shown. Not even the duo’s friends and relatives liked what they saw. Oh yes, but Martin was the exception.

“I liked the pilot. “I realized later that I was a poor person to judge because I was so close to it,” he admitted. “My great familiarity with the material made it difficult for me to judge objectively. I liked that they maintained a considerable level of complexity. I was told that I am under penalty of death if I ever show this to anyone,” he added with a laugh. That’s right, the Internet’s biggest dream is to one day have access to this mythical pilot who is kept under lock and key by the few who have seen him.”

There were several text and cast changes from this pilot. Actress Tamzin Merchant was replaced by newcomers Emilia Clarke and Jenniffer Ehle, the first Lady Catelyn Stark, dropped out of the project and Michelle Farley joined the cast. Both left memorable performances.

Images of Naomi Watts as a Lannister

The fate of the Bloodmoon pilot was supposed to be similar to that of Game of Thrones, but hair and makeup artist Flora Moody shared a video on Instagram (now removed) where everyone could see some frames of Naomi Watts in the scene. And even skeptics were curious. Yes, I’m admitting I took a break.

We still don’t know the name of Naomi’s character, but she looks majestic, and mysterious, wearing clothes in shades of gold and surrounded by jewels. It is not clear where she is and the mystery of what the story was thought up by Jane Goldman contributes to the mystery.

What do we know? The plot was in what Martin calls the “Age of Heroes of Westeros” when the great Houses were still being formed, there was a great invasion from abroad (The Targaryens), and yes, the time when the first appearance of the White Walkers was recorded. . (them again!)

Apparently, the pilot focused on “the wedding between a Stark princess and a Casterly: during the ceremony, a comet would fall from the sky, showing a “blood moon” and triggering the events to come”. Naomi Watts is not a Stark, obviously, but a Casterly, the House that was extinguished during this period, giving rise to the Lannisters.

Who are the Casterlys?

If you don’t have the entire genealogy of Westeros in your head, don’t worry. There isn’t ‘much’ information about House Casterly, which gives its name to the Lannister Castle in Game of Thrones. Which would potentially make Bloodmoon more interesting precisely to fill this gap.

This is because House Casterly was precisely extinguished during the period of the series, the Age of Heroes. The Casterlys were founded by a hunter named Corlos, who, upon encountering a pride of lions, killed the adults and kept the cubs alive. When he returned home with them, he found a fen, and in it, what luck, he discovered a gold mine that was practically the entire rock. Seeing the opportunity as a gesture from the gods to save the cubs, he adopted the Lion as a Symbol. Now very rich, he made the place the base of the fortress named Casterly Rock, in honor of his father, Caster.

The Casterlys’ happiness did not last long as they were deceived by Lann, the clever one, leading House Casterly to extinction and replacement by the Lannisters. As little is known about Lann, it was thought that he would be her, or rather, the character of Naomi Watts. After all, we only know about Lann in the songs of the Seven Kingdoms, none of which are the same. Many even doubt that he existed. A mystery that remains and that is archived with Bloodmoon, apparently.

And the other series?

Without Bloodmoon, we fans are counting down the days and weeks until the next House of the Dragon teaser, which still has no confirmed release date. The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: Knight Hedge was delayed because of the strikes but should be starting production on its pilot soon. There is no cast announced yet.

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