Game of Thrones ‘10,000 ships’ spinoff would be inspired by iconic Bible story

Game of Thrones’ 10,000 Ships spinoff, penned by the writer of Man on Fire, would have been a Bible-inspired epic about a legendary queen.

After the original show’s infamous conclusion in 2019, it seemed like we’d never return to Westeros. However, years later, HBO has resurrected the franchise with House of the Dragon and other planned spinoffs, including A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight.

Other projects have entered (and fallen out of) development, including Brian Helgeland’s pitch for Game of Thrones spinoff Ten Thousands Ships, a series centered on Queen Nymaria.

“It came out great, but I think they felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original. That’s why it hasn’t been picked up yet, but nothing is ever dead. My script was based on Queen Nymeria and this little blurb about her that was in a Westeros encyclopedia,” he explained to Inverse.

In George R.R. Martin’s source material, Oberyn Martell explains: “Thousands of years ago, the warrior queen Nymeria crossed into Dorne from Essos, fleeing the dragonlords of Valyria. After she landed, she burned her ships, all 10,000 of them, so no cowards could slink home. What a woman. Dornish in spirit before she ever was in flesh.”

That explains the show’s title, but it would have followed Nymeria after her country is “ruined” and she’s forced to live on the water with her people. According to Helgeland, it would have been inspired by Moses and the Exodus.

“Essentially, it was the story of Moses but swapping him out for Nymeria… they end up having to leave and find a new home like the Israelites leaving Egypt. She’s leading all these people, trying to hold everyone together but things are always in danger of falling apart as they travel around a fictionalized version of the Mediterranean, looking for a new home to settle in,” he said.

Unfortunately, the series never set sail. Helgeland met with Martin, who signed off on the idea, but HBO never gave it the green light. “My work is still there if HBO wants to pick it up. I enjoyed my time developing it, and you just never know,” the screenwriter added.

In the meantime, find other new TV shows to stream this month.