5 ‘Game of Thrones’ Stories That Work Better as Movies Than Aegon’s Conquest

A few days ago, audiences were shocked to discover Warner Bros. is officially developing a movie about Aegon’s Conquest, marking the Game of Thrones franchise’s debut on the big screen. It makes sense that the fantasy saga would eventually want to make its mark on the silver screen, and Aegon’s story is an ideal candidate to make use of the medium. After all, a movie with a big budget and enjoyed on the largest screen possible is probably the only way to do justice to Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes.

However, Aegon’s Conquest was a relatively straightforward affair. Yes, battles like the Last Storm and Dorne’s successful resistance indeed make for riveting reading on the page and will undoubtedly make for thrilling cinema. Yet, one can’t help but think of the other stories in the world of Westeros that would make even better movies than Aegon’s submission of the Seven Kingdoms. And while watching the Conqueror riding the Black Dread will undoubtedly be exhilarating, a few of George R. R. Martin‘s other bits of world-building might even be better.

The Doom of Valyria

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If there’s one thing everyone knows, it’s that Game of Thrones fans love dragons. The original show gave us three, and House of the Dragon gave us dozens, but you know what’s better than that? Thousands of dragons. That’s how many were said to have been in the Valyrian Freehold at the peak of its might. Often described as the greatest civilization to have ever existed in either Westeros or Essos, Valyria was a civilization forged by dragon fire, built on magic, and destroyed by hubris.

Like all the most interesting parts in the World of Ice and Fire, not much is known about Valyria’s structure or civilization. We know about forty families in Valyria were dragonriders, including the Targaryens, though they were of lesser standing. We know magic was very common in Valyria, and it might’ve actually been one of the main contributing factors to the Doom. As for the disaster itself, we know it involved the eruption of the Fourteen Flame volcanoes and that it was so devastating that it destroyed the Freehold in a single day. Realizing the might of Valyria would only truly be possible in cinema, both because of the budget necessary to do justice to the Freehold and because such a vision would be best enjoyed on the silver screen. An Aegon Conquest movie may very well begin with the Doom, but a project solely focusing on Valyria would be far better.

The Long Night

For eight seasons, Game of Thrones promised us a world-ending conflict, the Long Night, where the Night King and his White Walkers would raise an army of the dead that was mighty enough to conquer all of Westeros. Alas, the Long Night turned out to be exactly that: just eight hours of battle against some very clumsy zombies before Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) killed the Night King in the world’s most anti-climactic jumpscare.

The original Long Night is said to have lasted an entire generation. It ended only after an alliance between the First Men and the Children of the Forest joined forces, thanks to the Last Hero, who then led the first members of what would become the Night’s Watch against the Others in the Battle for the Dawn. Bran the Builder then built the Wall to protect the realms of men from the Others. Many of these events are treated as myths by the time of the events of Game of Thrones, but considering everything we know about the White Walkers, it’s absolutely certain that the first Long Night did happen. The infamous canceled Game of Thrones spin-off Bloodmoon would’ve been set during the Long Night and featured characters like Bran the Builder and Lann the Clever. We will never see that show, but we can still see the White Walkers in action in a movie, finally fulfilling the pledge that Game of Thrones failed to deliver.

The Coming of the Andals

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The story of Westeros is filled with violence and invasion, to the point where it often seems like the entire continent lives in a perpetual state of conflict. Few invasions are more important to the continent’s overall story than the Coming of the Andals, which was a true revolution for Westerosi society, effectively ending the Age of Heroes. It’s unclear when it actually happened, with sources claiming it took place anywhere between six and two thousand years before the events of Game of Thrones. During the invasion, the Andals arrived from the hills of Andalos in Essos, preaching the Faith of the Seven and seeking to conquer the lands of Westeros.

A movie about the Andal invasion would be a straightforward war epic, featuring multiple large-scale battles, notably the Battle of the Seven Stars and the Battle of Bitter River. It would need to follow multiple characters, and there might not even be a set protagonist; here, the battles would be the main selling point. Considering how well Game of Thrones did in the battle department, it’s worth imagining what the IP could achieve with a bigger budget and a more epic scale suited for the big screen. The Andal invasion period is also not as explored in the history of Westeros, meaning a movie about it could have a lot of creative freedom.

Bloodraven’s Story

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In the World of Ice and Fire, few figures are more mysterious or ultimately fascinating than Brynden Rivers, most commonly known as Bloodraven. One of the Great Bastards of King Aegon IV, “the unworthy,” Brynden is an albino with white skin and hair and red eyes, plus a large birthmark on his face in the shape of a raven. Although the actual extent of his influence is disputed, it’s very easy to assume that most major events in Game of Thrones are directly influenced by him. Among the fandom, there’s even a common saying: “When in doubt, blame Bloodraven.”

Brynden is perhaps best known in Westerosi history as a major player during the First Blackfyre Rebellion and for serving as Hand of the King to both Aerys I and Maekar I. He was subsequently sent to the Wall along with Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan), where he rose to the role of Lord Commander before disappearing beyond the Wall. Fans of the show later see him as the Three-Eyed Raven (Struan Rodger and Max Von Sydow), the mystical figure who acts as Bran Stark’s (Isaac Hempstead Wright) guide in Season 6 of Game of Thrones. Bloodraven is a powerful figure, but much of his story is shrouded in mystery. A movie focusing on him would not only shine a light on that, but it would also fill in some of the gaps in Thrones‘ larger story.

Tywin Lannister’s Story

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Ask anyone who the best character in Game of Thrones is, and many will probably say “Tywin Lannister.” Beautifully played by veteran actor Charles Dance (who somehow was never nominated for an Emmy for his work on the show), Tywin is the head of House Lannister and the father of Cersei (Lena Headey), Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage). For most of the show’s first half, Tywin is a major player in the game, acting as Hand of the King to Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman), successfully repelling Stannis Baratheon’s (Stephen Dillane) invasion, and orchestrating the Red Wedding.

Tywin is arguably the smartest character in Game of Thrones. Ruthless and astute, he is the best player in the game and has the money and status to back it up. However, while his story throughout the show is fascinating, his backstory is arguably even better. Any Thrones fan knows the show first became famous for its intricate politics and character-driven drama, and Tywin’s life story has more than enough of those. A movie centering on him would deal with his time as Aegon V’s cupbearer, his role in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, and, of course, his most infamous achievement: extinguishing the Houses of Reyne and Tarbeck, a feat immortalized in the song “The Rains of Castamere.” Tywin’s role as Aerys II’s Hand and his brutal participation in Robert’s Rebellion would make for a thrilling third act. A film about Tywin Lannister would be the type of intimate portrayal of a complicate and morally compromised man that cinema thrives on, and would make for a far more riveting experience than just seeing dragons burning men alive.