This Game Of Thrones Star Has The Worst Franchise Luck (According To Reddit)
As one of HBO's most acclaimed projects, "Game of Thrones" dominated the cultural conversation for nearly a decade. With over a hundred Emmy nominations and record-breaking viewership, "Game of Thrones" was a hot commodity ... that sort of just fizzled out at the end. Following a critically disappointing eighth and final season, the series lost most of its dominance and clout. What should have been a cultural touchstone has since become just a blip on the 2010s pop culture landscape. Still, the fantasy epic made superstars out of its lead ensemble, turning relatively obscure actors into overnight sensations.
One of the most notable stars to capitalize on and bask in the popularity of "Game of Thrones" is Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen for the show's eight seasons. She received four Emmy nods for her performance as the Targaryen and has continued to boast steady work in Hollywood since the series wrapped in 2019. Clarke no doubt tried her best to close Daenerys' arc, but the character was reduced to a brooding caricature in the show's final season. Now, the series is just a painful memory for some, with Clarke's character specifically remembered as poorly written.
While her output is certainly consistent, fans of the actor on Reddit are realizing that the star has had terrible luck with franchises — a curse of sorts that she just can't seem to escape. On the r/movies subreddit, u/D-Speak discussed how Clarke's franchise fare has mostly missed the mark in terms of popularity, box office receipts, or both. "MY GOD does she get the s*** end of the stick when it comes to her roles in major franchises," the user wrote, pointing out how Clarke's projects in the "Terminator" and "Star Wars" franchises have mostly fallen flat, failing to catapult her career forward.
Terminator: Genisys and Solo were major misfires
The Reddit thread certainly isn't wrong in pointing out Emilia Clarke's string of bad luck with franchises. When it came time to reboot the "Terminator" franchise again, Paramount Pictures tapped Clarke to play Sarah Connor in 2015's "Terminator: Genisys," replacing Linda Hamilton. Directed by veteran "Game of Thrones" director Alan Taylor, "Genisys" was a critical flop and received a middling response from audiences, who gave the action film a mediocre B+ CinemaScore. The film fell into relative obscurity following its release and failed to restart the franchise properly. While speaking with Vanity Fair in 2018, Clarke discussed how she was "relieved" that she didn't have to continue on with the "Terminator" franchise, citing how a troubled production led to "no one ha[ving] a good time."
But Clarke's relationship with sci-fi fare didn't end there, as 2018 saw the release of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" — the biggest box office misfire in "Star Wars" history. As the same Reddit post reads, the film was "a box office disappointment and faded into the aether [...] and Clarke's character was set up for a future arc that we most certainly won't be seeing."
In "Solo," which lost over $50 million, Clarke played Qi'ra, the love interest of Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich). When asked if she'd return as Qi'ra, Clarke remained coy with IndieWire. "I mean ... no," Clarke said laughingly in January 2023. "That would be lovely, that would be very nice," the "Game of Thrones" star continued, before discussing how she was enjoying working in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — a career move that doesn't seem to have panned out either.
Emilia Clarke's Marvel future seems uncertain
After jumping from "Terminator: Genisys" to "Solo: A Star Wars Story," Emila Clarke made what seemed like an extremely wise choice: joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead of headlining her own superhero project, Clarke joined the ensemble thriller series "Secret Invasion," which highlights how Skrulls have effortlessly infiltrated Earth. Co-starring Samuel L. Jackson and Oliva Coleman, "Secret Invasion" aimed to be a major-prestige, serious play for the MCU.
Unfortunately, "Secret Invasion" was another critical failure on Clarke's franchise-heavy resume, boasting a disappointing 54% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes. Perhaps more damning is the 48% audience score the series received, signaling that the "Game of Thrones" actor's return to television wasn't as fruitful as it could have been. In the Reddit thread, u/D-Speak discusses how "Secret Invasion" is "commonly seen as the worst product the MCU has ever churned out, and poor Emilia's character is at the center of those criticisms due to how terribly she's written in the final episode."
USA Today was particularly critical of the series and the actor's performance as the Skrull G'iah, writing, "Clarke, a force to be reckoned with on eight seasons of 'Game of Thrones,' sleepwalks through her scenes, barely wasting time on facial expressions." As of this writing, a second season of "Secret Invasion" has not been announced, and it remains to be seen if G'iah will have a future, much less a prominent one, in the MCU.
Emilia Clarke's fans think she should avoid franchises
In the Reddit thread, Emilia Clarke fans share their belief that the former "Game of Thrones" star should ditch franchise projects. "She should be a Rom-Com queen, that's her element," said u/Top_Report_4895. While a decent portion of her (limited) CV is franchise-heavy, Clarke has dabbled in romantic projects and largely succeeded with them. The 2016 adaptation of "Me Before You" was a fan favorite — it boasts an A CinemaScore – and a box office juggernaut, grossing north of $200 million worldwide. Then, there was the criminally underrated Paul Feig rom-com "Last Christmas," which proved that Clarke could play complex characters with a goofy smile.
"I agree. The more serious roles don't work as well for her," responded u/Kelslaw. "She has this incredible spark in interviews and rom-coms that I adore," they continued, adding that Clarke's charm is lost in serious roles. While that's definitively subjective, it's clear that audiences enjoy seeing Clarke in smaller productions. With "Terminator" and "Star Wars" in the rear view mirror, and her Marvel future uncertain, Clarke is definitely leaning into her comedic sensibilities, executive producing and starring in the 2023 sci-fi rom-com "The Pod Generation."