"Game Of Thrones" Directors Who Went On To Even Bigger Projects

By Will Mavity 

With two "Game Of Thrones" directors receiving Emmy nominations recently for the show’s seventh season, it is a reminder of the considerable talent on display behind the camera. The show’s latest double nomination also reminds us that "Game Of Thrones" is bumping TV directors to feature directors at an unprecedented rate. For years, TV directors and feature directors operated with little overlap. Occasionally, a Mimi Leder would make the jump from television to film, or an icon like Peter Bogdanovich might direct an episode or two of "The Sopranos," but generally, the two types of directors remained separate. ​

​Click below to find out why.

With two "Game Of Thrones" directors receiving Emmy nominations last week for the show’s most recent season, it is a reminder of the considerable talent on display behind the camera. The show’s latest double nomination also reminds us that "Game Of Thrones" is bumping TV directors to feature directors at an unprecedented rate. For years, TV directors and feature directors operated with little overlap. Occasionally, a Mimi Leder would make the jump from television to features, or an icon like Peter Bogdanovich might direct an episode or two of "The Sopranos," but generally, the two types of directors remained separate. 

As we entered the "Golden Age of TV," we began to see directors like Jonathan Demme, Adam McKay, Martin Scorsese or David Fincher helming an episode or two of a show to set the tone for a series. But it is still notable whenever a director who has been primarily or entirely known for TV makes the jump to television. It is rare enough that even in a show like "The Walking Dead," that offers directors the chance to work with similar large scale, only 24% of its many directors would go on to direct feature films. That includes ones like Jeremy Podeswa and Michelle MacLaren, who would go onto "Game Of Thrones" before even landing those feature gigs.

And then you look at "Game Of Thrones." Nearly 70% of directors who have directed "Game Of Thrones" have subsequently landed feature directing gigs. I can only assume that directing an episode of HBO's hit show is like attending a boot camp on action directing. Matt Shakman (Who directed the two episodes "The Spoils Of War" & "Eastwatch") calls working on Thrones like going to "summer camp." You’re working with multiple locations, a cast of hundreds, massive scale action sequences work, differing visual styles by region, makeup, and prosthetics with complex VFX work. In addition, since "Game Of Thrones" brings all of its directors to Europe at the same time, they have the opportunity to interact with one another every day and learn from one another. Shakman stated, “Coming into a show that’s operated for seven successful seasons, you’re more like an art student. You learn to paint like Rembrandt and get new tools you can add to your toolkit when you work elsewhere.”

In addition, showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss also give their directors the chance to stretch their skills and experiment. As Emmy winning director David Nutter says, “It’s not a situation where they say, “Here, David, we’d like you to do it this way.” [Benioff and Weiss] give me all the freedom in the world to do that. I’ve never been on a show where they respect the director so much, and that’s why I love the freedom to be there so much.”

For all of these reasons. Having "Game Of Thrones" on your resume is like having worked at McKenzie, or having gone to Harvard: someone looks at a resume and goes “Oh…you did Thrones? Yeah, this will be no problem for you.” The directors have no choice but to be ambitious.  And so, "Game Of Thrones" directors are all going onto bigger things, mostly features. 

Here are the feature films where you can see "Game Of Thrones" alumni directors next...

Jack Bender

Episodes: 6x05: The Door & 6x06: Blood Of My Blood
Although Jack Bender came out of left field for Season 6 as a director choice, he quickly quelled any concerns by delivering a series all-time in “The Door.” Bender, who was previously best known for his work on “Lost,” delivered the show’s most mind-altering and trippy episode, incorporating the series’ first brush with time travel. The episode’s emotional impact along with Bender’s technical mastery subsequently ‘broke the internet.’ Bender was nominated for a Directing Emmy, which he would later lose to fellow "Game Of Thrones" director, Miguel Sapochnik.

Since his stint on "Game Of Thrones," Bender has been directing episodes for AT&T’s acclaimed series, “Mr. Mercedes.” But he has also released a feature documentary about Leonard Cohen. More intriguingly, he is attached to two features for J.J. Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot. One, entitled “7 Minutes In Heaven” revolves around two teens who embark on a round of Seven Minutes in Heaven, only to emerge from the closet and find all of their friends dead. The other, a sci-fi film entitled “De-Evolution” written by David Leslie Johnson (“The Conjuring 2" & “The Walking Dead”) and based on an idea by “World War Z’s” Max Brooks, is being largely kept under wraps. Although both films are still in the development phase (We have yet to see any movement on either project since 2016), giving Bender’s proven ability to execute twists and emotional gut punches, we eagerly await anything in the feature world he might have to offer us. 

David Benioff

Episodes: 3x03: Walk Of Punishment & 8x06 (Untitled)
I mean this is kind of cheating, because of course, as the co-creator of a massive TV hit like this, Benioff would land all kinds of great opportunities. But regardless, Benioff is officially a series director. He previously directed Season 3’s "Walk Of Punishment" and will helm the series finale. He had never directed prior to this and has now landed a gig helming a "Star Wars" spinoff trilogy alongside his co-showrunner, D. B. Weiss. We know little about their Star Wars series, other than Emilia Clarke’s description of the series as “Star Wars on Acid.” In addition, he has landed more writing gigs, including Ang Lee’s upcoming sci-fi blockbuster, "Gemini Man."

Alex Graves

Episodes: 3x04: And Now His Watch Is Ended, 3x05: Kissed By Fire, 4x02: The Lion And The Rose, 4x03: Breaker Of Chains, 4x08: The Mountain And The Viper & 4x10: The Children

Already a veteran of "The West Wing," Alex Grave’s career as a TV director has soared since his stint on "Game Of Thrones." He has since landed directing gigs on "House Of Cards," "Homeland," "Altered Carbon," "Shameless" and more. More importantly, he was the man behind some of the series' best episodes including the one where Danaerys burns the slave masters, the one where Jon Snow and Ygritte have sex, the one where Joffrey dies, the one where Oberyn gets his head crushed in, and the insane Season 4 finale. In fact, he literally helmed almost of Season 4, which on a show of this scale is one hell of an achievement.

Then again, he was also the one who apparently didn’t realize he accidentally directed a rape scene in season 4. He also incited the ire of fans everywhere during his Season 4 making-of commentary, where he revealed fundamental misunderstandings of character motivations.

Regardless, his ability to master the show’s ambitious technical aspects means that he has since landed a massive feature blockbuster: Sony’s live-action “Mulan.” Not to be confused with Disney’s Live-Action "Mulan." Yes, we have two live-action "Mulan" movies coming.  This one will likely be a darker, grittier take on "Mulan" than the Disney one and primarily targets international audiences. 

Graves has shown he can work big-budget looking wonders on a budget of $8-10 million per episode. Now let’s see just what he can accomplish with a $60-100 million budget.

Brian Kirk

Episodes: 1x03: Lord Snow, 1x04: Cripples, Bastards, And Broken Things & 1x05: The Wolf And The Lion

Although Brian Kirk’s episodes (All in season one) were downright quaint compared to the massively scaled episodes the show would come to be known for, they also were also excellent, grounded character episodes that established the show as mature television. His action beats were also impressive, with a Jaime Lannister vs Ned Stark sword fight remaining one of the best one-on-one fights of the series and his The Hound vs The Mountain sword fight proving so awesome, that fans have spent the last seven years hoping for a rematch.

Although he continued to work in TV after his stint on "Game Of Thrones" first season, directing episodes of "Penny Dreadful" and "Hard Sun," he is now looking into some larger scale features. Last week, he was announced as the director for an upcoming Russo Brothers-produced Chadwick Boseman project revolving around “a disgraced detective in the NYPD who is given a shot at redemption. Thrust into a citywide manhunt for a cop killer, he begins to undercover a massive conspiracy that links his fellow cops to a criminal empire and must decide who he is hunting and who is actually hunting him. During the manhunt, Manhattan is completely locked down for the first time in its history - no exit or entry to the island including all 17 bridges."

Earlier this year, Kirk also signed on to direct "Borderland," the Jamie Dornan/Sam Claflin action thriller described as a British version of "Heat," revolving around an “IRA operative (Dornan) who is dispatched to London to head a new unit and wreak havoc, he uses the move to hunt down the person responsible for the accidental lethal shooting of his wife – an SAS captain (Claflin) who happens to be hunting the Irishman.” He also has been attached to “Narco Sub,” a Liam-Neeson starring action film produced by Ridley Scott, that follows “a naval captain being forced against his will to navigate a cocaine-filled submarine past the US Coast Guard.”

Although none of those modern crime dramas even vaguely resemble the world of Westeros, hopefully, Kirk’s ability to wring strong character moments out from the plot, world-building, and action means that we have a compelling new action director to rally behind.

Neil Marshall

Episodes: 2x09: Blackwater & 4x09: The Watchers On The Wall

Unlike most of the directors on this list, Neil Marshall came to thrones with an impressive pre-existing resume as a feature director. His 2005 horror film, "The Descent" is considered one the best additions to the genre of the 21st century, while his low-budget debut, "Dog Soldiers" was met with solid reviews and a cult following. His two bigger-budget action films "Doomsday" and "Centurion" were met with mixed reviews and tepid box office returns but proved his ability to handle large-scale action sequences. As such, he clearly had talent but his theatrical career was floundering.

So it wasn’t shocking that Benioff and Weiss brought him on board to helm two of the series’ biggest action episodes: "Blackwater" and "The Watchers On The Wall." He knew how to execute spectacle but was still affordable. 

Lists typically rank his two "Game Of Thrones" episodes among the best of the entire series and his contributions earned him an Emmy nomination. They also allowed him to fashion a lucrative career directing TV. Prior to "Game Of Thrones" he had not helmed a single episode of TV. Since then, he has worked on "Black Sails," "Hannibal," "Westworld," "Lost In Space" and more. But his TV reputation (Started by "Game Of Thrones") has also allowed him to re-enter the world of feature directing, giving him his biggest budget film to date: an R-Rated reboot of "Hellboy" starring David Harbour.

Michelle MacLaren

Episodes: 3x07: The Bear And The Maiden Fair, 3x08: Second Sons, 4x04: Oathkeeper & 4x05: First Of His Name

Even prior to her stint on "Game Of Thrones," MacLaren was already amazing the world on AMC's "Breaking Bad." She helmed eleven episodes of "Breaking Bad," including the series’ highpoints like Hank Schrader’s shootout with ‘The Twins’ and the macabre ‘Gliding Over All’ prison assassination montage. A Vulture article by Matt Zoller Seitz that refers to her as the best director on TV singles out a quote by Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn that states: “[MacLaren] got a lot of action-centric episodes where there were shootouts and giant explosions, or where they were in the desert for days…She did those kinds of things incredibly well; the episodes started looking like big feature films.” 

But if her work on "Breaking Bad" really started her career, it was her work on "Game Of Thrones" that proved she was a force ready to expand into feature films. During her stint on "Game Of Thrones," she lived up to the nickname she earned on "Breaking Bad" - ‘Samantha Peckinpah,’ due to her propensity for gruesome violence.

Karl Tanner’s memorable ‘stabbed through the mouth’ death scene was entirely her idea (The script called for a much more typical death),  while Theon’s nightmarish castration scene also occurred under her watch. She also executed two of the show’s most memorable White Walker moments: Sam vs The White Walker from "Second Sons" and The White Walker baby sequence from "Oathkeeper." But for all of her ability to handle action and gore, it was her effortless mastery of the quiet character moments that proved what an adept director she really is. None of her episodes on "Game Of Thrones" were 'big' episodes, yet they still proved to be memorable.

MacLaren springboarded from her impressive efforts on "Breaking Bad" and "Game Of Thrones" to "The Leftovers," "Better Call Saul," "The Deuce," and even "Westworld." Given her ability to execute action, it isn’t surprising that eventually, MacLaren would branch into the feature world. She was Warner Bros.’ first choice to direct "Wonder Woman" but ultimately departed the project due to ‘Creative Differences.’ Since then, she has signed on to direct several projects including "The Nightingale," an adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s novel, which “tells the story of two sisters coming of age in France on the eve of World War II, and their struggle to survive and resist the German occupation of France. “ The project is currently looking at a 2019 release. The second project MacLaren has been attached to is Chris Pratt’s “Cowboy Ninja Viking.” The film, based on a comic series, “tells of a counter-intelligence unit that uses multiple personality disorder patients to create agents known as Triplets, referring to the three personalities the killers have. When the agents become rogue hired guns, the deadliest Triplet of them all, Cowboy Ninja Viking, is called in to take down his own brethren.”

"Cowboy Ninja Viking" comes from a script by "Zombieland" and "Deadpool" writers, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, along with Craig Mazin ("The Hangover 2"). Which in short means there is no doubt that it will give MacLaren an opportunity to showcase her love for explosive action and copious amounts of carnage.

David Petrarca

Episodes: 2x04: Garden Of Bones & 2x05: The Ghost Of Harrenhall

David Petrarca's tenure on "Game Of Thrones" was not a lengthy one. The episodes he helmed were classic mid-season types during a season that happened to have the longest stretches of little ‘happening’ of any of the show’s seasons to date. That being said, Petrarca did oversee Melisandre’s supremely creepy ‘shadow baby’ assassin in "Garen Of Bones." His portrayal of the ruined city, Harrenhall is also memorably gritty and haunting.

Since working "Game Of Thrones," Petrarca has landed increasingly more ambitious TV gigs including "Jessica Jones," "The Alienist," "The Man In The High Castle" and "Marco Polo." More importantly, Petrarca has since been attached to direct two feature films. 

The first, an adaptation of David Lindsay Abaire’s stage play Fuddy Meers, was rumored a few years ago, but little to no concrete news had been reported. Now, Next Best Picture has confirmed that the project is heading into production in Spring/Summer 2019. Petrarca confirmed that Krysten Ritter and David Tenant (Who he collaborated with on Jessica Jones) are both on board to star, as well as Ellen Burstyn. Fuddy Meers “tells the story of an amnesiac, Claire, who awakens each morning as a blank slate on which her husband and teenage son must imprint the facts of her life. One morning Claire is abducted by a limping, lisping man who claims her husband wants to kill her. The audience views the ensuing mayhem through the kaleidoscope of Claire's world. The play culminates in a cacophony of revelations, proving that everything is not what it appears to be.” 

He previously landed a feature gig directing a WWII drama about the French resistance entitled "Marceau" but the project was delayed in light of a similar Jesse Eisenberg project moving forward. As of now, Petrarca states that the film still has actors Dylan O’Brien and Mark Strong attached, and will begin production in late 2019.

Jeremy Podeswa

Episodes: 5x05: Kill The Boy, 5x06: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken, 6x01: The Red Woman, 6x02: Home, 7x01: Dragonstone & 7x07: The Dragon And The Wolf

Even before arriving on "Game Of Thrones," Jeremy Podeswa already boasted an accomplished TV resume, including episodes of "Rome," "Six Feet Under," "The Pacific," "Dexter," "The Tudors," "Homeland," "American Horror Story," "Ray Donovan," "The Walking Dead" and "Boardwalk Empire." Given his extensive TV experience, it is no surprise that Podeswa proved a steady hand for Benioff and Weiss, ultimately sticking around for 3 seasons. His tenure on the show made him the only director in the show’s run to land two Emmy directing nominations. And when he was on…he was ON. His season 7 finale, "The Dragon And The Wolf," proved to be one of the show’s all-time best episodes, delivering both grounded interactions and ample spectacle. 

He has proved adept at executing ‘small moments,’ using silence to his advantage, especially in Season 7’s premiere with moments like Danaerys’ silent arrival to Dragonstone and The Hound mourning a deceased family. And his work in Season 5’s "Kill The Boy," resulted in a rare high point for a weak season: his execution of a riveting dinner scene between Sansa and the Boltons reminded us of the kind of excellent grounded human drama the show prided itself on in its earlier seasons, while his episode-ending ‘Stoneman’ attack remains one of the show’s best pure ‘horror’ moments. That being said, Podeswa has also delivered some of the show’s most ‘iffy’ moments, including an excruciatingly bad Dorne fight scene, and Sansa’s rape scene from Season 6's sixth episode "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken."

Although he is not returning for the show’s final season, Podeswa is continuing to work with some of TV’s hottest shows, having helmed two episodes of "The Handmaids Tale" in its second season.

In addition to helming TV, Podeswa had already directed several feature films prior to joining "Game Of Thrones." For his next project, Podeswa is reteaming with writers and producers from one of his previous films for an adaptation of "419," a novel that “examines the West’s complex relationship with Africa through the story of Laura’s determination to take revenge against a ‘419’ Nigerian scammer whose con led to her father’s suicide.”

When Podeswa joined the project, it was intended to be a feature film. Since development began, Next Best Picture has exclusively learned that the film has since ballooned into a six-part limited series entitled "Four One Nine."

Alik Sakharov

Episodes: 2x03: What Is Dead May Never Die, 3x06: The Climb, 4x06: The Laws Of Gods And Men & 4x07: Mockingbird

Alik Sakharov began his career as an accomplished cinematographer, shooting HBO series' "Rome," "The Sopranos" and "Sex And The City." He began his tenure on "Game Of Thrones" as a DP, shooting many of the first season’s most important episodes (Including the premiere, the episode where Ned Stark dies, and the epic series finale). Which is to say, next to Benioff and Weiss, he could arguably be considered the person most responsible for creating the series overall cinematic ‘look.’ Having proved himself as having a capable visual eye, Benioff and Weiss promoted him to a full-time director for future seasons. He would then go on to direct notable series moments including Tyrion’s epic trial, Jon Snow and The Wildlings’ climb over the wall, which Vulture described as "the series’ most romantic moment to date."

Since then, he has directed episodes of "Boardwalk Empire," "House Of Cards," "Marco Polo" and "Ozark." He is currently slated to direct a slew of episodes for Netflix’s "The Witcher." But more intriguingly, though he previously had DP’d feature films including 2011’s "Straw Dogs" remake, he has been attached to direct his first feature: “Forty-Six.” Sakharov’s feature directorial debut revolves around “a newly elected president who quickly discovers that the U.S. government has been controlled by an ominous organization for decades - and becomes determined to fight back.”

Miguel Sapochnik

Episodes: 5x07: The Gift, 5x08: Hardhome, 6x09: Battle Of The Bastards, 6x10: The Winds Of Winter, 8x03: (Untitled) & 8x05: (Untitled)

A director so beloved by fans of the show that the mere mention of his name gets fans salivating. Miguel Sapochnik came aboard the show in Season 5 and blew everyone away by delivering a series high point with his thrilling massacre at Hardhome. He then returned for season 6, delivering an all-time series battle in "Battle Of The Bastards" and a stunning season finale to boot with "The Winds Of Winter."

Prior to Sapochnik’s work on "Game Of Thrones," no one could have guessed just how adept at staging action he would become. He had directed an episode of "House," a couple for "Fringe" and an episode of "Under The Dome" but nothing that really would give us a glimpse at what a master of spectacle he would become. Perhaps it was the fact that he had a feature under his belt (2010’s unsuccessful sci-fi "Repo Men") that convinced Benioff and Weiss to give him the reigns for some of the show’s biggest episodes. Whatever the reason, it certainly worked.

There are some episodes of "Game Of Thrones" where fans debate, “was it really the director who did anything special, or was the writing just more on point with this episode?” That is not the case with Miguel Sapochnik. We know that Benioff and Weiss often give their directors leeway with action sequences (Mark Mylod’s Braavos chase scene with Arya was just written as “most dazzling foot chase scene in cinematic history” in the script). Sapochnik completely redesigned the Battle of the Bastards from how it was written on paper. For example, the Jon almost being smothered by bodies beat was completely off script.

Benioff and Weiss have brought him back to direct the big “battle” to end all battle episodes in King’s Landing for Season 8. This battle sequence will likely be the length of a feature film. So it’s fitting that once he wraps up his work on "Game Of Thrones," Sapochnik has built the credibility return back to features. He recently signed on to direct "BIOS," a Tom Hanks-led sci-fi feature produced by Robert Zemeckis due out in 2020. It revolves around “a robot on a post-apocalyptic Earth who was programmed to protect his creator’s dog. Through that, the robot learns about love, friendship and the meaning of life.” Whatever the film holds, we can assume that the spectacle will at least be insane, given the logistical miracles he has pulled off with "Game Of Thrones" so far.

Matt Shakman

Episodes: 7x04: The Spoils Of War & 7x05: Eastwatch

When Benioff and Weiss announced their Season 7 director lineup, one of the names that left viewers scratching their heads was Matt Shakman. He's a director who was at the time best known for helming episodes of "It’s Always Sunny In Philidelphia." Now, Shakman had also honed his skills on a few episodes of "The Good Wife," "Everybody Hates Chris," "Weeds," "House" and even "Fargo" but nothing to suggest he had the experience to helm the kind of spectacle offered by "Game Of Thrones." The head-scratching intensified when we learned that Benioff and Weiss had initially entrusted the episode to one of their most reliable big scale directors, David Nutter ("Dance Of Dragons," "The Rains Of Castamere" & "Mother’s Mercy"), because of the massive scale battle that was set to occur in one of these episodes. Nutter dropped out, so Benioff and Weiss got a sitcom director. Seemed like a perfect recipe for disaster. And then, of course, the episode ended up being a season highpoint, packed with some of the show’s best action ever. Shakman’s spectacular long takes, crisp editing and painterly framing proved that his talents had long been hidden in the shadows. Admittedly, his follow up episode, "Eastwatch" was a notable step down in terms of scale. But even in a middling episode, Shakman manages to conjure up some striking visuals north of the wall and at Dragonstone. 

Then, in December, having proven himself adept at directing both whimsical comedy and now "Game Of Thrones" CGI heavy spectacle, Shakman landed his first major feature gig: a big-budget feature adaptation of Norton Juster’s novel, "The Phantom Tollbooth" for Tristar from a screenplay by Phil Johnston (“Zootopia" & “Wreck-It Ralph”). Like his work on "Game Of Thrones," it will be a live-action production with ample amounts of CGI.

Alan Taylor

Episodes: 1x09: Baelor, 1x10: Fire And Blood, 2x01: The North Remembers, 2x02: The Night Lands, 2x08: The Prince Of Winterfell, 2x10: Valar Morghulis & 7x06: Beyond The Wall

Already an established Emmy award-winning TV director for "The Sopranos," "Deadwood," "Lost" and "Mad Men," it’s not surprising that Taylor would be one of the first voices Benioff and Weiss would entrust to get a show like "Game Of Thrones" off the ground. His steady experience shows, even in the show’s ‘low budget years.’ His execution of Ned Stark’s execution is nothing short of masterful, while images like Daenerys emerging unscathed from the flames at the end of Season 1 remain some of the series’ most iconic. 

Following Season 2, Marvel began hunting for a new director for "Thor: The Dark World."  They decided to parse the field of "Game Of Thrones" directors for someone suitably medieval. Marvel reached out to Thrones alumni Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, and Alan Taylor, ultimately settling on Taylor. He has since stated that he hated the process of working with Marvel and butted heads repeatedly with Kevin Feige. Joss Whedon was reportedly brought in for emergency rewrites during shooting. And then afterward, Taylor felt the film was taken away from him. Asked about the experience making "Thor: The Dark World" afterward, Taylor stated, “The Marvel experience was particularly wrenching because I was sort of given absolute freedom while we were shooting, and then in post, it turned into a different movie. So, that is something I hope never to repeat and don’t wish upon anybody else.”

And of course, "Thor: The Dark World" remains one of Marvel’s least popular films. But that didn’t stop Taylor. He then directed "Terminator: Genisys." Which was uh...well the less we say about that the better. And lo and behold, Taylor found himself directing TV again, helming an episode of Amazon’s "Electric Dreams" and more notably, the penultimate ‘battle’ episode of Game of Thrones Season 7. The episode received more mixed reviews than other ‘battle’ episodes, with some citing Taylor’s direction as flawed. Still, Taylor just snagged himself an Emmy Nomination for directing the episode and proved himself capable of another feature gig: "The Many Saints Of Newark."

"The Sopranos" showrunner David Chase, handpicked Taylor, a longtime Sopranos veteran to direct the feature film "Sopranos" prequel that New Line has been developing. Reportedly, “The film takes place in the 1960s, when riots swept through Newark, New Jersey and conflicts between African-American and Italian residents were at their worst,” and will feature several recurring characters from "The Sopranos."

If Taylor may not have been entirely at home directing blockbuster action films, he may be better suited in a grounded feature crime drama. After all, he was the one to win "The Sopranos'" only directing Emmy.

D. B. Weiss

Episodes: 4x01: Two Swords & 8x06 (Untitled)

As with David Benioff, although Weiss may only have two series directing credits to his name, he has overseen the entire show of "Game Of Thrones." And the episode he directed is full of fan-favorite moments, such as The Hound’s ‘chicken’ scene. As such, Weiss has been granted the keys to the "Star Wars" kingdom along with Benioff and together, the two will oversee a new spin-off trilogy. In the meantime, his and Benioff’s next TV project, “Confederate” is in limbo as the two focus on the feature world instead.

In short, “Game Of Thrones” has proved an incredible springboard for talented directors to make their way into the feature world. The rate of transition is astonishing. Time will tell if these directors find success, but their time on “Game Of Thrones” has certainly given them all the tools they need and we look forward to what they provide us with next.

Who are some of your favorite directors on "Game Of Thrones?" Which are your favorite episodes? Do any of these upcoming projects excite you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

You can follow Will and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @mavericksmovies