A 5th Game Of Thrones ‘Project’ In The Works At HBO!
As we announced a couple of weeks ago, HBO are working on 4 possible ‘Game Of Thrones’ spin-off series… Now, according to George R. R. Martin, they seem to be working on a 5th!
Yesterday evening, the slow writing author took time out from not finishing his long (loooong) awaited next book, to pen a lengthy post on his livejournal site about the latest developments on the new series’. Firstly we’ve been asked to called them ‘successor show’ not ‘spin-offs’. “For what it’s worth, I don’t especially like the term “spinoff,” and I don’t think it really applies to these new projects,” wrote George. “What we’re talking about are new stories set in the “secondary universe” (to borrow Tolkien’s term) of Westeros and the world beyond, the world I created for A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. It is a world, and a pretty big one, and if there were eight million stories in the naked city back in the 50s, just think how many more there are in an entire world, and one with thousands of years of recorded history.”
He then goes on to say that all of the shows will definitely be prequels… Then says he doesn’t like the term prequel either, and prefers the term ‘successor show.’ Right, no problem George, that’s what we’ll call it… Although if you worry about everything in this level of detail, I’m beginning to see what that book is taking so damn long to finish!
George continues to say that he pitched two possible ideas for ‘successor shows’ back in August last year – one of which amongst those being developed. He also confirms that he is working with all four writers – Max Borenstein, Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland, and Carly Wray – to develop the new projects, plus a mysterious fifth scribe! “We had four scripts in development when I arrived in LA last week, but by the time I left we had five,” he adds. “We have added a fifth writer to the original four. No, I will not reveal the name here. HBO announced the names of the first four, and will no doubt announce the fifth as well, once his deal has closed. He’s a really terrific addition, however, a great guy and a fine writer, and aside from me and maybe Elio and Linda, I don’t know anyone who knows and loves Westeros as well as he does.”
Not that he expects them all 5 shows to make it to air… “Decades of experience in television and film have taught me that nothing is ever really certain… but I do think it’s very unlikely that we’ll be getting four (or five) series.”
Whilst he is obviously barred by HBO from going into details on what these stories might be, he did confirm what some of them won’t be. “We’re not doing Dunk & Egg,” his novellas series about ‘Ser Duncan the Tall’ and his squire ‘Egg’, as he still has books to write in that series, and doesn’t want to be in the ‘Game Of Thrones’ position of the tv show being ahead of the books. He also knocks out the idea of a series based around ‘Robert’s Rebellion’, which saw Robert Baratheon take the throne. “By the time I finish writing A SONG OF ICE & FIRE,” he comments, “you will know every important thing that happened in Robert’s Rebellion. There would be no surprises or revelations left in such a show, just the acting out of conflicts whose resolutions you already know.”
He concludes “And yes, before someone asks, I AM STILL WORKING ON WINDS OF WINTER.” That’s good George, but write faster!
Game Of Thrones returns to Sky Atlantic on the 17th July 2017 at 2am.
