Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss reveal why they aren’t involved with House of the Dragon and whether they’ve seen the spinoff. Based on George R.R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels, Benioff and Weiss created the hit adaptation for HBO and served as the showrunners for all eight seasons. However, the duo did not return for the prequel series House of the Dragon which, based on Martin’s book Fire & Blood, was created by the author and Ryan Condal, the latter of whom serves as showrunner.

In a recent profile by The Hollywood Reporter, Benioff and Weiss revealed why they aren’t involved in House of the Dragon. As the creators of Game of Thrones, they were “contractually guaranteed producer credits” on all future spinoffs, but they turned it down (and all the “free money” that came with it) because they didn’t want their names associated with a project that they were completely detached from. Furthermore, Benioff and Weiss haven’t watched House of the Dragon season 1. Read their full explanation below:

Benioff: HBO was kind of confused. I remember their lawyer saying, “But it’s just money, we’re just going to pay you.”

Weiss: I don’t think there is such a thing as free money. For us, if our name is on it, especially that, while being completely detached and uninvolved, it felt like the strain that would come with that hands-off approach — with its success or failure or anything in between — was not worth it.

What The Game Of Thrones Cast Has Said About House Of The Dragon

Benioff and Weiss aren’t the only ones involved with Game of Thrones who haven’t watched House of the Dragon. Many members of the Game of Thrones cast have been asked the same question, and have given similar answers, including Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. However, many of them intend to watch it someday, except for Clarke. The Daenerys Targaryen actor said it would be “weird” for her to watch House of the Dragon and is actively “avoiding” it:

Other Game of Thrones actors intend to watch House of the Dragon. Madden, who played Robb Stark, said, “I’ve been very busy doing other things, but I’ll get around to it.” Dinklage, who played Tyrion Lannister, said he needs a “dragon break” after Game of Thrones, though he does “intend to definitely” watch House of Dragon since he “heard it’s really good.”

Harington and Coster-Waldau both tried to watch House of the Dragon, but had to stop. The Jaime Lannister actor was turned off by the opening titles, saying, “It was a little strange because it was the same music and the title sequence was kind of similar. I was like, ‘Ah, this is too soon.'” Instead, he wants to wait and binge-watch the show. The Jon Snow actor only watched the “first few episodes,” admitting, “It’s hard for me to watch because I lived in it for so long. There’s a pain there.” Instead, Harington is “working [his] way through it slowly.”