Well you didn’t thinkGame of Thrones, HBO’s biggest hit and one of the most pervasive cultural juggernauts of the decade would just go out quietly into the night, did you? With its ending now set, HBO is looking for how to continue to capitalize on the show’s popularity with a handful of new series under consideration. AMC has tried its hand at this twice with its incredibly popular series: once withBetter Call Saul(a spinoff/prequel toBreaking Bad) and once withFear the Walking Dead, whose title explains it all. Neither one, particularlyFear(and despite the merits ofSaul)has had the same impact as its predecessor. But that won’t stop a network from trying, by golly!
HBO is considering four potentially spinoff series, though it’s unclear where they would fall within theGame of Thronescanon (would they be prequels, sequels, or straight spinoffs?) Of the new batch (described in more detail below), current showrunnersDan WeissandDavid Benioffare not writers, but they would continue to serve as executive producers if any of those projects move forward, with authorGeorge R. R. Martincontinuing to be involved in an advisory capacity (because it’s not like he has anythingelseto do, right? WRITE?!)
Apparently HBO is taking their time with the potential series, not wanting to rush anything that could damage the franchise’s current cachet, saying in a press release that:“There is no set timetable for these projects. We’ll take as much or as little time as the writers need and, as with all our development, we will evaluate what we have when the scripts are in.”And they do have some time —Thrones’ seventh season is premiering this summer, but there’s still the eighth and final season to be scripted and filmed following that.
As far as what form these new stories will take, we don’t have any clues yet except that they do not currently have a direct connection to the current material, but will“explore different time periods of George R. R. Martin’s vast and rich universe.”
It’s also not necessarily a case that one project will win out over the others, either — there may be a mix of series that could be limited series, a movie, who knows!
The four writers / writing teams are:Max Borenstein(Kong: Skill Island, Fox’sMinority Report);Jane Goldman(Stardust,Kingsman: The Secret Service) and George R. R. Martin;Brian Helgeland(42,Legend); andCarly Wray(Mad Men,The Leftovers) and George R. R. Martin. Again, it’s not like Martin hasanything elseto do … (and is he still pushing thatDunk and Eggseries?)
What would you like to see from a new Westeros-set TV show? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll keep you up to date as more about these projects is revealed.
