George R. R. Martin Reveals There is a Fifth Possible ‘Game of Thrones’ Spin-Off in the Works
Game of Thrones writer George R. R. Martin released some new details regarding the HBO series’ spin-offs via his blog on Sunday night. Earlier this month, it was announced that there are four different spin-off possibilities being worked on for the series. Last night, Martin announced that there is actually a fifth story also in the works.
In his Live Journal, Martin reveals that reports of him working on only two of the four possibilities were incorrect. He’s actually working with all four writers on the spin-off ideas and, after visiting LA for a planning meeting, a fifth idea developed. Martin writes:
“We had four scripts in development when I arrived in LA last week, but by the time I left we had five. 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.”
The four writers previously announced are Max Borenstein (Kong: Skull Island, FOX’s Minority Report), Jane Goldman (Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: First Class), Brian Helgeland (A Knight’s Tale, L.A. Confidential) and Carly Wray (Mad Men). While there are five ideas being created, Martin makes it clear that we will not necessarily be getting five different series in the future:
“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. At least not immediately. What we do have here is an order for four — now five — pilot scripts. How many pilots will be filmed, and how many series might come out of that, remains to be seen. (If we do get five series on the air, I might have to change my name to Dick Direwolf).”
Though Martin did not reveal anything about the plot for the potential spin-offs, he did put two popular fan theories to rest regarding Ser Duncan the Tall and Aegon the Unlikely; and Robert’s Rebellion.
“We’re not doing Dunk & Egg. Eventually, sure, I’d love that, and so would many of you. But I’ve only written and published three novellas to date, and there are at least seven or eight or ten more I want to write. We all know how slow I am, and how fast a television show can move. I don’t want to repeat what happened with GAME OF THRONES itself, where the show gets ahead of the books. When the day comes that I’ve finished telling all my tales of Dunk & Egg, then we’ll do a tv show about them… but that day is still a long ways off.”
Additionally, Martin has said that these ideas, which we have been referring to as “spin-offs” won’t actually be spin-offs of the series. Martin is using the term “successor show” which we find pretty interesting. Sounds like there’s more stories to tell and Martin wants them to stand on their own rather than become a tail of Game of Thrones:
“None of these new shows will be ‘spinning off’ from GOT in the traditional sense. We are not talking Joey or AfterMASH or even Frazier or Lou Grant, where characters from one show continue on to another. So all of you who were hoping for the further adventures of Hot Pie are doomed to disappointment. Every one of the concepts under discussion is a prequel, rather than a sequel. Some may not even be set on Westeros. Rather than ‘spinoff’ or ‘prequel,’ however, I prefer the term ‘successor show.’ That’s what I’ve been calling them.”
And, lastly, of course, Martin continues to reassure fans that he is continuing to work on Winds of Winter in addition to these other projects. Though there’s no word on when the novel will be finished, Martin assures us, he’s working on it!
“And yes, before someone asks, I AM STILL WORKING ON WINDS OF WINTER and will continue working on it until it’s done. I will confess, I do wish I could clone myself, or find a way to squeeze more hours into the day, or a way to go without sleep. But this is what it is, so I keep on juggling. WINDS OF WINTER, five successor shows, FIRE AND BLOOD (that’s the GRRMarillion, remember?), four new Wild Cards books, some things I can’t tell you about yet… it’s a good thing I love my work.”
The seventh season of Game of Thrones premieres July 16th at 9PM on HBO. Are you excited?
Source: Nerdist
A karaoke obsessed, craft beer enthusiast and lover of all things pop culture, Denise enjoys all facets of entertainment from Broadway to box office blockbusters. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, concerts (lots and lots of concerts), volunteering, reading and playing with her rescue kitten, Samantha (who rescued who, right?).
