Despite what happened in Season 8, Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen has come out to be one of the most influential characters in television, and she's wonderfully brought to life by Emilia Clarke. What's interesting is, she wasn't originally cast in the role, and they had shot the pilot with a completely different actress.
Check out the difference between Clarke and the original Daenerys, Tamzin Merchant:
If you're not familiar with Merchant, she had played the role of Anne Hale in the Salem TV Series. She had also played the role of Lyra Strayd in The CW's Supergirl.
We don't really know why the showrunners decided to replace Merchant in the role, but for sure they cast Clarke as the perfect Daenerys. I guess you can say that Clarke has a more imposing face, and she can look threatening while at the same time vulnerable.
I kind of see Merchant as more of a character actress, but boy she must be disappointed they decided to replace her. Hopefully she gets back on her feet after getting kicked off Game of Thrones. At best, she's still acting, but nothing on the same level of prestige as the Mother of Dragons.
Game of Thrones may be gone, but HBO is working on several spinoffs already. We don't have a release date yet, but it's likely we could get our look at the prequel series sometime in 2021.
See Also: Game Of Thrones: Finn Jones Correctly Predicted Series Finale 4 Years Ago