The new “Game of Thrones” spinoff prequel, “House of the Dragon,” will have fewer sex scenes than its predecessor, according to one of the showrunners.
The massively popular HBO series was often criticized for graphic, frequent sex scenes which included full frontal nudity, incest, and rape, to name a few. Though “House of the Dragon” takes cues from “Game of Thrones” when it comes to tone and storytelling, showrunner Miguel Sapochnik told The Hollywood Reporter that the series “pulls back” on the sex scenes.
Sapochnik told the publication that the new drama will have sexual assault scenes, however. He said their inclusion is dealt with “carefully, thoughtfully and [we] don’t shy away from it. If anything, we’re going to shine a light on that aspect. You can’t ignore the violence that was perpetrated on women by men in that time. It shouldn’t be downplayed and it shouldn’t be glorified.”
The 10-episode series is set 300 years before “Game of Thrones” and will follow the House of Targaryen as they fight over who will rule the kingdom. The story is based on George R.R. Martin’s book “Fire and Blood.”
Due to the massive success of the original “Game of Thrones,” multiple spinoff projects are currently in the works, including one focused on fan favorite character Jon Snow.
Following the recent release of the full-length trailer, fans have been especially excited for the realistic-looking dragons, which are all unique in their appearance.
The showrunners made headlines recently for saying they intentionally selected a diverse cast after “Game of Thrones” was blasted for not doing the same, The Daily Wire reported.
“It was very important for Miguel and I to create a show that was not another bunch of white people on the screen,” Ryan Condal told Entertainment Weekly. “We wanted to find a way to put diversity in the show, but we didn’t want to do it in a way that felt like it was an afterthought or, worse, tokenism.”
The solution became clear when Condal spoke with Martin, who originally had thought about portraying the Velaryons as wealthy black conquerors who arrived in Westeros from the west.
“Once we had that idea, it just felt like everything fell into place,” Condal said.
Besides a lack of diversity, the original series “Game of Thrones” was criticized for what many fans believed was a terrible final season. Showrunners are hoping fans will give the franchise a second chance with this new prequel.