As Game of Thrones is heading into the final chapters of its eight-season run on HBO, the premium cable network has revealed some information about its succession plan, signing deals with four writers to join George R.R. Martin in the development and writing of four GOT offshoot series.
The network would not specify whether the series would be prequels, sequels, spinoffs or companion series to GoT — or all of the above — only noting that each project would “explore different time periods of George R. R. Martin’s vast and rich universe” in his epic fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire.
GoT creators/executive producers Dan Weiss and David Benioff, who are finishing up the upcoming seventh season and already are in the midst of writing and preparing for the series’ eighth and final season, are attached as executive producers on all projects alongside Martin but will not be involved in the writing. The four potential GoT offshoot series will be written by:
Max Borenstein (Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island)
Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, Kingsman and X-Men franchises), George R. R. Martin
Brian Helgeland (Mystic River, A Knights Tale)
Carly Wray (HBO’s The Leftovers & Westword, AMC’s Mad Man), George R. R. Martin
HBO stresses that all four projects are in development. There is no set timetable for them, and they will be evaluated when the scripts are completed.
It is logical to assume that the network would like to have a new GoT-themed series launch behind the final season of the blockbuster mothership show.
HBO brass had hinted about trying to expand the popular GoT franchise with additional series, including a possible prequel or spinoff. Martin, who is under an overall deal at HBO, also had been alluding to new projects he has in the works at the network.
Game of Thrones is one of the biggest series on television alongside AMC’s The Walking Dead, which too got a companion series with prequel Fear the Walking Dead.
This is exciting, but I really wish Martin would spend his times finishing the books. He hasn’t completed one since the series started, and it’s starting to look like he’ll never even finish the 6th one… I guess we should start calling him “former writer” George RR Martin
Why do the female writers have George co-writing but not the men. Are the women not to be trusted on there own ?
Calm down. Maybe they just ended up getting the stories that HBO said George wanted to co-write from the beginning.
HBO added that the creators and showrunners of the main series, D. B. Weiss and David Benioff, are continuing to work on finishing the upcoming seventh season of “Game of Thrones” and are “in the midst of writing and preparing for the eighth and final season” but would be attached, along with Martin, as executive producers.
Finish the book, George!
I would have been satisfied with just one, the more the merrier.