How Game of Thrones’ success inspired modern day historical epics

There is barely anybody on the earth who hasn’t heard of Game of Thrones; it is without a doubt one of the best television series ever produced. With several more in the works, the brand has successfully won over viewers with its spinoff program House of the Dragon. However, Game of Thrones has not only inspired spinoffs, but other shows and films as well. A feature film, The Conquest: William the Conqueror, is one of them.

Game of Thrones was the driving force behind The Conquest: William the Conqueror

A number of historical shows and films took inspiration from HBO’s fantasy epic Game of Thrones, which itself took pieces from real-life history. In a recent interview with The Guardian, the writer and producer of The Conquest, Solomon J. LeFlore, stated that the popularity of Game of Thrones has spurred interest in historical action and adventure in the film business.  He described his film as “a Shakespearean melodrama with all the critical elements that made Game of Thrones and other historical tales an incredibly popular genre”.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is also set to star as William the Conqueror

Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played Jaime Lannister on the show, is coincidentally set to play William in an upcoming period drama. James Norton of Happy Valley and Coster-Waldau lead the cast of the historical drama series King and Conqueror on CBS Studios. The eight-part series was developed, written, and produced by Michael Robert Johnson (Sherlock Holmes). As executive producer and director, Baltasar Kormákur (Everest) will lead the first episode.

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