The Ring and the Crown: Disney’s Latest Attempt at Their Own Game of Thrones Replacement Series
Parijat Ghosh 
At its heart, The Ring and The Crown hails from the 2014 young-adult fantasy novel by Melissa de la Cruz. The story revolves around two childhood friends. Princess Marie‑Victoria, heiress to a powerful empire’s throne, and Aelwyn Myrddyn, the bastard daughter of Merlin and a talented mage.
These two girls grew up together under the same roof, but as they age, their destinies begin to diverge. One destined for royalty and duty, the other bound by blood and magic. Their worlds twist into political marriages, imperial expectations, secret magic, and dangerous alliances. Throw in magical powers, rival kingdoms, social-climbing aristocrats, and a looming war. You get a bubbling cauldron of betrayal, ambition, romance, and intrigue.
Why People Compare The Ring and the Crown to Game of Thrones
After the massive success of Game of Thrones, the fantasy-TV world has been craving another series that combines political maneuvering, royal back-stabbings, magical elements, and sprawling world-building. The Ring and The Crown checks many of those boxes: powerful empires, arranged marriages for political gain, hidden magic, secret identities… and a lot of simmering tension.
While it’s marketed as a “young-adult” story (so expect somewhat lighter violence than GoT’s darkest moments), the core ambition, betrayal, love vs duty, carries the same emotional weight. That parallel has fueled hopes that this could be “the next major fantasy hit” for a generation hungry for royal scheming and magical drama.
Who’s Behind The Ring and the Crown
The series adaptation is being handled by showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg, folks who’ve worked on shows like Star Trek: Discovery, Revenge, and Pushing Daisies. They’re joined by de la Cruz herself, plus production teams from 20th Television, The Gotham Group, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Disney Branded Television.
That dream-team combo has many readers buzzing . Maybe this time, all the right people are on board to get the magic (literally) and drama just right.
What We Know and What’s Still Up in the Air
What we know
- Disney+ officially greenlit the adaptation.
- The core premise (princess + mage childhood friends turned rival-destiny) remains intact.
- Expect political intrigue, magic, arranged marriages, high-society parties, and betrayal.
What’s still unknown
- No public release date yet.
- Cast details haven’t surfaced.
- Because it’s based on a YA novel, not a gritty adult saga, the final tone remains a bit uncertain. Will it lean more fairy tale or dark fantasy? Only time will tell.
Conclusion: Thoughts?
So yeah. The Ring and The Crown isn’t just Disney doing another safe fairy tale. It’s got the bones to be messy, political, magical, and emotionally heavy. If the creators lean into its darker undercurrents while keeping the glamour alive, we could be looking at a true Game-of-Thrones-era successor for a newer generation.
Will it dethrone GoT? That’s a high bar. But I’m putting my chips on it being a wild, binge-worthy ride, full of ball gowns, betrayal, and maybe a bit of actual magical mayhem.
If you have any questions regarding The Ring and The Crown, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe, and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
