Every Game of Thrones spin-off coming to HBO, ranked by hype level

Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, ?The Sea Snake? in House of the Dragon. Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO

9 Voyages / Sea Snake

Seventy-nine years of age, he had served four kings and a queen, sailed to the ends of the earth, raised House Velaryon to unprecedented levels of wealth and power, married a princess who might have been a queen, fathered dragonriders, built towns and fleets, proved his valor in times of war and his wisdom in times of peace. The Seven Kingdoms would never see his like again.

The Sea Snake is the nickname given to Corlys Velaryon: Master of Driftmark, Lord of the Tides, Hand of the Queen to Rhaenyra Targaryen, regent to King Aegon III and one of the most beloved characters from George R.R. Martin’s?Fire & Blood. He’s a prominent character in?House of the Dragon, by which time he’s an old man.?But before all that, he was a young boy fascinated by the sea. Son of the Lord of Driftmark, Corlys took up seafaring at the tender age of six and never left the sea unless duty demanded it.

His fabled nine voyages to Essos inspired legends, ballads, and books in Westeros. No distance was too great for him, no port too far. Aboard his ship the?Sea Snake, he visited almost every city known to man and brought back to Driftmark treasures beyond price, making House Velaryon richer than even the Hightowers or Lannisters.

Judging by the title, the show will center mainly on Corlys?s nine voyages. It would be amazing to see the glory of Essos and visit places we haven?t seen on Game of Thrones?like Yi Ti, Leng, Asshai, the Shivering Sea and Nefer.

Corlys was a larger-than-life figure in his own time, and remembered as the most expert sailor in Westeros, becoming a captain at the age of 16. But he was just as expert a strategist and politician on land, as shown by the events of his later life during and after the Dance of the Dragons.

Corlys married Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, the Queen Who Never Was (because the great council of lords preferred Prince Viserys over her simply because he was male). He loved her deeply, despite having a few bastards of his own. Rhaenys knew how much Corlys loved the sea, and even proposed they travel together: ?We can go back to the ends of the earth together. But I’ll get there first, as I’ll be flying.” This line better make it into the show!

They had two children: Laenor and Laena, who respectively married Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen. Rhaenyra was one of the main claimants to the Iron Throne during the Dance, and obviously the Velaryons supported her claim. Poetically, Rhaenys died on dragonback defending Rhaenyra?s right to the throne, even though Rhaenyra?s father Viserys was the very reason why Rhaenys had been denied that right herself.

Even though 9?Voyages can’t cover these later events because it would overlap with House of the Dragon, I do sincerely hope they plan to show something of Rhaenys, because she was just as formidable as her husband. The couple will be played by Steve Toussaint and Eve Best in House of the Dragon, but 9 Voyages would probably need to cast younger actors for the roles.

Hype Level: Off the Charts

The voyagers of the Sea Snake offer so many possibilities. The show is being developed by Bruno Heller, the creator of HBO’s?Rome.