Skip to main content

Swords and synths collide in 'Game of Thrones' intro from the 1980s

Swords and synths collide in 'Game of Thrones' intro from the 1980s

/

Westeros goes New Wave

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, the fantasy novel series that inspired HBO's Game of Thrones, is firmly a product of the 1990s (the author began work on the first book in 1991). But imagine if the series had hit the airwaves a decade prior. You can get a sense of what a 1980s Thrones would look and feel like thanks to this cleverly redone intro from YouTube user Mikolaj Birek, who took the intro from YouTube user Hunterlsanders and redubbed it. Now it features a fittingly-period polygonal HBO graphic (not the actual 1980s HBO intro), grainy VHS tape blurs, shiny title cards and a synth-heavy remix of the actual series opening theme from musician Steve Duzz. Somehow, it all comes together better than a Kings Landing wedding. After all, the '80s were a bountiful time for live-action fantasy: The Dark Crystal, Labryinth, Conan the Barbarian and the underrated Beastmaster, all bowed during the decade. Had Game of Thrones premiered then, it would have been in good company.