'Game of Thrones' Just Got Real: Scientists Brought Back Actual Dire Wolves Using Ancient DNA

In the world of Game of Thrones, dire wolves are massive, ancient beasts bonded to the Stark family like oversized emotional support dogs. In real life (yes, they existed once, about 12,000 years ago), they were even more intimidating—bigger than modern wolves, with broad chests, thick skulls, and bone-crushing jaws built for prehistoric carnage. And now, thanks to a Dallas-based biotech startup that sounds like it was dreamed up in a Marvel origin story, dire wolves are officially back.

Colossal Biosciences—the company whose mission is “de-extinction”—has pulled off one of the wildest feats in modern science: using ancient DNA and CRISPR gene editing to resurrect the dire wolf. Today, the company announced the birth of three living, breathing dire wolves: Romulus, Remus, and, fittingly, Khaleesi.

This isn’t CGI. It’s not AI-generated. It’s science that reads like science fiction—powered by gene editing, ancient fossils, and the kind of tech you'd expect to see in Tony Stark’s lab. These are actual, giant, genetically accurate, scientifically verified dire wolves walking the Earth again. The kind of reveal that makes you double-take and ask, “Wait, this isn’t just a GoT promo?”

Nope. This is very real. And it might be the most bonkers science story of the year. 

Jurassic Park, but Make It a Startup

Colossal was co-founded in 2021 by tech entrepreneur Ben Lamm and Harvard geneticist George Church, a man whose resume includes things like “invented multiplex gene editing” and “helped map the human genome.” Together, they launched the company with a bold goal: to make extinction optional.

You’ve probably heard about their plans to bring back the woolly mammoth–which, by the way, they’ve already made progress on by creating the viral “woolly mouse”. Colossal doesn’t just want to save endangered species: It wants to de-extinct them, a word that sounds like science fiction but is quickly becoming a bio-tech buzzword. The company has raised over $225 million in funding, with investors ranging from Paris Hilton to Chris Hemsworth to the CIA’s venture arm, In-Q-Tel.

And with a mission like theirs, it’s impossible to avoid comparisons to Jurassic Park. The beloved franchise's depiction of resurrected dinosaurs is frequently mentioned when discussing Colossal’s bold de-extinction aspirations. Their chief marketing officer is even a former Hollywood exec who worked on—you guessed it—Jurassic World. But Lamm isn’t fazed. He understands the fascination.

“I know a lot of people love to give us the Jurassic Park comparison,” Lamm says. “They weren’t focused on conservation in Jurassic Park unless I missed that subplot. But I also don't think people give enough credit to Jurassic Park, because—outside of inspiring some geneticists to do it—it really opened our minds to the possibilities. It taught us that there's this thing called DNA. I think they saw Jurassic Park, and they're like, oh, we're made up of a bunch of twisted letters. That's cool.”

How Do You Resurrect a Prehistoric Predator?

First, you sequence the genome—preferably from bones that haven’t seen sunlight since the prehistoric era. For this project, Colossal tapped two fossilized specimens: a 13,000-year-old tooth from Ohio, and an inner ear bone from Idaho estimated to be 72,000 years old. Together, those samples delivered what’s called 36x genome coverage—140 times the data density of any previously sequenced dire wolf genome.

Then comes the remixing. By comparing the dire wolf’s DNA to that of other modern canids—like gray wolves—Colossal identified the unique traits that made them dire: muscle mass, whisker length, and even vocalizations. Using a process known as multiplex CRISPR editing, scientists introduced over 20 gene edits across 14 loci, customizing the DNA to accurately recreate the prehistoric predator.

If this sounds like a lot to wrap your head around, you’re not alone—most of us hear “multiplex CRISPR editing” and start Googling. I know I did.

Welcome to the Pack: Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi

At Colossal’s high-security wildlife facility in an undisclosed location in the northern United States, three dire wolf pups are growing rapidly. They're big, muscular, and beautiful. “Honestly, they almost looked like polar bears,” Lamm says, describing their white coats as they bounded through the snow during a recent visit. And, watching the video he shared, I couldn’t help but feel amazed as I watched the pups play together like overgrown Samoyeds.

Born in late 2024 and early 2025, the first three dire wolves of the 21st century were named with appropriately epic flair. Romulus and Remus—nods to the mythological wolf-raised founders of Rome—and Khaleesi, in honor of Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons (and, now apparently, Mother of Wolves).

“I’m so excited to be an investor in one of the most fascinating science companies today,” said Tom Brady—yes, that Tom Brady. “The dire wolf will not only break into the pop culture zeitgeist, it will also raise awareness of what is possible in science, which will inspire kids of all ages. This is just the beginning.”

Beyond the Hype: Why Colossal’s Mission Actually Matters

While the cultural symbolism is fun, Colossal’s larger mission is deeply serious. The dire wolf project isn’t just about bringing back extinct species—it’s about using that science to protect today’s most endangered ones and making science cool. That’s why they’re not just reviving mammoths and dire wolves; they’re open-sourcing their technologies for conservation. 

Instead of invasive tissue sampling (a big problem when you're trying to save endangered species), they developed a new, non-invasive cloning method. By harvesting rare cells from blood samples, Colossal cracked the code on how to create viable embryos without harming the donor. “We try to pair every de-extinction with species preservation,” says Lamm. “Anything that we do that is an application of conservation, we just give to the world for free. And then separately, we have a foundation that we raise $50 million for supporting wildlife conservation in genetic rescue and de-extinction technologies for conservation.

“We made three dire wolves, and so we made four red wolves,” he continues. “And why this is important is there are only 15 red wolves left in the wild … The government has been working on saving the red wolves for 50 years, and it's gone nowhere. And I'm like, ‘In one year I could remove them from the endangered species list.’”

From Westeros to the Real World

When Game of Thrones was filming, producers struggled to find real-life animals to portray grown dire wolves. They settled on Northern Inuit dogs—husky-like but not nearly as massive or intimidating. CGI handled the rest. Now, with the real thing in front of him, Lamm couldn’t resist showing off. “George [R.R. Martin] gets on the Zoom with me … He has no context. I showed George the stuff—he started crying,” Lamm recalls. “He’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, is this what I think it is?’”

Yes, George. It is.

“Many people view dire wolves as mythical creatures that only exist in a fantasy world,” said Martin, Game of Thrones author and Colossal investor. “I get the luxury to write about magic, but Ben and Colossal have created magic by bringing these majestic beasts back to our world.”

For Kit Harington, who played Jon Snow and shared the screen with some very convincing CGI dire wolves, seeing the real thing was emotional.

“This is truly mesmerizing,” Harington said. “To see with my own eyes this beautiful animal that for years I could only imagine is real and back on Earth, … I feel encouraged that this is science that can help undo some of the ills we’ve inflicted on the natural world.”

There’s something kind of poetic about it, too. In GoT, the dire wolves were symbols of loyalty, survival, and a fading ancient world. In reality, they were apex predators of the Ice Age who went extinct roughly 12,000 years ago, unable to adapt to dwindling sources of large prey. Now, they’re getting a second chance—thanks to the kind of science that feels one part Black Mirror, one part Planet Earth, and one part Comic-Con.

So… What Now?

The techniques Colossal is developing could help protect rhinos, snow leopards, and countless other species on the brink. And yeah, it also means we might actually live to see mammoths or dodos get another shot. But don’t expect dire wolves to show up in your neighborhood dog park anytime soon. Colossal is keeping the animals under close observation, hoping this is just one step towards making science cool. 

Still, not everyone is cheering on the return of prehistoric predators. Some scientists and ethicists have raised concerns about the ecological and financial implications of reintroducing extinct species, particularly when their original habitats and food chains no longer exist. Lamm is unperturbed, saying, “We do have some people that don't like us for various reasons. It's helping the world. It's advancing science for human healthcare. It's advancing conservation, but it's also cool, and that's okay. And the world needs a little inspiration now more than ever, so we're going to do it.”

“The news is just telling us everything that's wrong, and our only escape is into pop culture,” Lamm explains. “But what if you can bridge science, news, and pop culture? That's something that we're pretty passionate about. We always joke and say that our mission with Colossal is MTV-meets-Harvard.”

If part of that aspiration is to inspire the next generation of scientists, the way Jurassic Park did, it’s working. During our conversation, Lamm showed me the drawings and letters he receives weekly. “Every week we get these pictures from moms and kids, thanking us for what we're doing,” he tells me. 

When it comes to a theme song for the newly revived wolves, Lamm's got you covered. “It would be weird not to choose the Grateful Dead’s ‘Dire Wolf,’” he says with a smile. “But if you’re going for something a little more pop, maybe ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’ by Duran Duran. It depends on the mood you're going for.”

We used to joke that life finds a way. Turns out, science does too.