Details Emerge Of The Pilot Script For ‘Game Of Thrones’ That Never Aired

HBO’s Game of Thrones has a legion of fans. However, new details emerging of a scrapped pilot script reveals a vastly different version of the hit epic fantasy series fans have grown to love.

There have long been rumors of an original pilot script for Game of Thrones that was so bad the writers were tasked with scrapping more than 90 percent of it. Often this mythical script was talked about in hushed voices and deemed likely to be as real as one of Old Nan’s stories in Game of Thrones.

But look out how true some of Nan’s fables turned out to be.

And so is the case of the mythical pilot script for Game of Thrones.

According to the Huffington Post, David Benioff, who is the current showrunner for Game of Thrones, once described the filming of the original pilot episode as “one of the most painful experiences” of his life. The script, which was developed in 2009 for the 2010 pilot, was deemed so terrible that a completely new one was written.

After that, it appeared that the original script fell into legendary status.

However, now it has been discovered that the alleged script, along with many old copies of author George R. R. Martin’s works, has been deposited to Texas A&M’s Cushing Memorial Library in College Station. This habit of Martin’s, who pens the “A Song of Ice and Fire” books series on which HBO based its TV series, has been ongoing for more than two decades.

And so, the discovery has led to what is believed to be an original version of the pilot script surfacing. As yet, it is unclear if this is the one Benioff referred to as the original pilot script. However, considering that George R. R. Martin was involved with the original development of the series, it seems highly likely this is similar, or if not, completely the same script. Also, Huffington Post points out the newly surfaced script is dated October 22, 2009, which is also the approximate time filming started on Game of Thrones.

So, what is so terrible about it?

As Gizmodo points out, there are some big changes between this old script of Martin’s compared to what viewers saw in the Game of Thrones pilot that aired on HBO.

In the original script, the Starks appear to miss out on a lot of valuable screen time. Except for Jon Snow, who appears to get much too drunk.

A scene involving Cersei’s discovery of the feather left on Lyanna Stark’s crypt is also vastly different from how it ended up playing out. In Game of Thrones, this feather sat in Lyanna’s statue’s hand for a long time. However, in the original pilot, Cersei removes the feather and asks her handmaiden to burn it.

In Episode 2 of Season 1 of Game of Thrones, the wedding between Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) ends in rape, whereas in the original pilot, this didn’t happen. However, the scene showing Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) having consensual sex with her brother, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), was a rape scene in the original pilot.

Other than these changes, Gizmodo points out, this doesn’t appear to be the worst script in the world. However, things could have very well turned out vastly different during filming.

Unfortunately, though, it seems highly unlikely footage of the original pilot will ever air thanks to David Benioff’s overwhelming distaste for the original pilot.

Fans can view the full extracts of the alleged first pilot script for Game of Thrones via the original Huffington Post post.

The final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones will premiere on April 14. The synopsis for Season 8 or its subsequent episodes has not yet been released. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, leaked runtimes suggest that viewers will get extended episodes for at least part of the final season.