Westworld showrunners reveal George R.R. Martin once pushed for a Game of Thrones world

(Image credit: HBO)

We may have gotten a surprise Westworld season 3 crossover in the shape of Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (plus Drogon!) showing up in Sunday’s episode, but the show’s creators have revealed that George R.R. Martin wanted to go bigger, even pitching an entire world dedicated to Westeros.

“George had consistently since the first season said, ‘We’ve got to do a tie-in with Game of Thrones,’” co-showrunner Jonathan Nolan told Variety. “People forget that George was originally a TV writer and he came up in the TV world in which you’d occasionally have these crossover shows, which the fans would fucking freak out over. So George had always been pitching the crossover show.”

How would it have played out? Lisa Joy said it would have been “like a ‘full situation world’. Game of Thrones world or something!”

Game of Thrones may have ended with a whimper, but the thought of Maeve and Dolores going face-to-face with Dany, Arya, and the Night King would have surely included the sorts of violent delights (and violent ends) that both shows revel in.

Instead, this week’s Westworld episode included an equally unlikely nod to the fantasy HBO series. As Bernard and Stubbs roam the halls of the tech labs, two workers – played by Benioff and Weiss – concoct a plan to smuggle the dragon host, Drogon, out to Costa Rica.

“I pitched it to them, as sort of, ‘How would you guys feel about this?’” Nolan explained of the Easter egg scene. “And they thought it was great fun.”

We’ve had Westworld, War World, Medieval World, and even the real world. What’s one more world to add to the simulation?

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Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.