'We had four scripts in development when I arrived in LA last week, but by the time I left we had five,' the author reveals, as well as shuts down several rumors regarding the new projects' plots.
- May 15, 2017
AceShowbiz - Earlier this month, HBO surprised everyone with big news of its plan to develop four potential "Game of Thrones" spin-offs. However, it turns out there are more than four spin-offs currently being made. Author George R.R. Martin wrote on his Livejournal page that, in fact, there were five potential shows taking place on "GoT" universe on the way to the network.
"We had four scripts in development when I arrived in LA last week, but by the time I left we had five," Martin revealed, before adding that TV is a "fast-moving business" and changes happened all the time. "We have added a fifth writer to the original four," he further explained, though he refused to reveal the name of the new additional writer.
"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 author went on saying. Among those four writers who were previously revealed were Max Borenstein ("Kong: Skull Island"), Jane Goldman ("Kingsman: The Secret Service", "X-Men: First Class"), Brian Helgeland ("A Knight's Tale", "L.A. Confidential") and Carly Wray ("Mad Men").
Martin also said that he didn't especially like the term "spin-off," as according to the author, it didn't really apply to the new projects. "What we're talking about are new stories set in the "secondary universe" (to borrow [J.R.R.] Tolkien's term) of Westeros and the world beyond, the world I created for 'A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE'," he shared.
He continued, "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."
He would be involved in the new projects as he revealed that he had the first meeting with the network back in August 2016. It was at this time that he pitched to HBO two shows, one of which is in development. "In the months that followed, other writers were brought in and pitched other ideas," he shared, before adding that later "HBO decided to go ahead with four separate developments."
While Martin said that he wouldn't spoil what the new projects would be about, he spilled the beans about what the new shows wouldn't be about. Martin wrote, "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."
In addition, the author confirmed they would not be about "Robert's Rebellion either." He explained, "I know thousands of you want that, I know there's a petition... but by the time I finish writing 'A SONG OF ICE & FIRE', 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. That's not a story I want to tell just now; it would feel too much like a twice-told tale."
At the end of his post, Martin assured fans that he was still working on the next "Game of Thrones" novel, "Winds of Winter". "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," concluded the author.
