Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has yet another adaptation of his work on the way to the screen, he confirmed on his blog. Martin has already had two of his novels transformed into successful TV shows, and a movie based on one of his novelettes is on the way. Now, a film adaptation of his story “In the Lost Lands” is in the works as well.
“I cannot seem to keep out of the news these days,” Martin mused in his new blog post. He confirmed a report by Entertainment Weekly, which said that “In the Lost Lands” was being adapted for film by Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich — the couple behind the Resident Evil franchise. Martin was clearly excited for the adaptation, noting: “‘In the Lost Lands’ was one of my earliest fantasy stories (most of my work in the 70s was science fiction).”
Martin also poked fun at himself and his reputation while summarizing the story for those who may not have read it before. He said that it was “the first tale of the mysterious Gray Alys,” later adding: “No doubt my long-time fans all recall the twelve classic tales I wrote about Gray Alys and her customers, which were later collected in the… WHOA, WHOA, wait a second. That’s all wrong… No, truth to tell, I meant to write a whole series of Gray Alys stories, I really did… but one day I put it aside and I never got back to it.”
This is all too familiar to fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, the novel series that Game of Thrones is based on. After taking longer and longer between each book, Martin has now gone a decade without releasing The Winds of Winter, the highly anticipated sixth volume of the series. Like in all of his blog posts, he assured fans here that he is still working on it.
Meanwhile, he explained that actor Dave Bautista will star as Boyce in In the Lost Lands, while Jovovich will star as Gray Alys. Jovovich is best-known for playing Alice in the Resident Evil franchise, while Anderson is best-known for writing and directing most of those movies. He will direct here as well, and his collaborator Constantin Werner will produce.
“And who knows? If the movie is a big hit, maybe there will be sequels, and Gray Alys will finally get her series after all,” Martin mused.
Martin still has not commented on reports that his 1979 sci-fi novelette Sandkings is being adapted for film as well. The news came out when director Gore Verbinski let it slip in an interview with Collider, revealing that Dennis Kelly has written the script.
Both Sandkings and “In the Lost Lands are currently available in Martin’s book Dreamsongs: A RRetrospective, which collect the author’s short fiction and older work into two volumes. So far, there is no word on when the adaptation of either project will premiere.
