We still have season eight of Game Of Thrones to look forward to, but there is already a lot of chat about potential sequels, prequels and spin-offs that could come from the wildly popular HBO show.
The men and women behind the programme have confirmed that they are planning more Thrones-based action after the eighth and final season, but details of this new show are being closely guarded.
America’s Got Talent winner Darci Lynne has adorable plans for her $1 million cash prize
It has been confirmed that there are now five potential spin-offs being worked on, but what do we know about them?
From various interviews, blog posts and Varys’ little birds, here is all the information we have so far on the Game Of Thrones spin-offs.
Are they prequels, sequels, spin-offs or something else?
Author of the books George RR Martin has said of the shows: 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.’
So that is pretty clear, any of the forthcoming programmes will be set before Game Of Thrones season one.
HBO programming president Casey Bloys said of the new output: ‘I was going to say ‘prequel’ but they’re not spinoffs because there are no existing characters going off the flagship.’
Will there actually be five successor shows?
No.
Bloys has cleared this up by saying: ‘The idea is not to do four shows. The bar set so high that my hope is to get one show that lives up to it.’
Martin wrote on Tumblr of the possibility of multiple successor shows: ‘Much as I might love the idea, HBO is not about to become the GAME OF THRONES network… but we could possibly see two or even three make it to the pilot stage, with one series emerging on air in 2019 or 2020, and the others maybe later, if they come out as well as we all hope.
‘Then again, maybe… but I should not speculate, you folks get WAY too excited. Truth is, no one knows. Least of all me.’
What is the plot likely to be?
This bit we really don’t know.
Martin has said: ‘Bryan’s [Cogman – GOT co-executive producer] series will be an adaptation, and one that will thrill most fans of the books, I think, set during a very exciting period of Westerosi history.’
The 69-year-old author had previously suggested his Dunk & Egg novellas as a source of material, but then later changed his mind as he has only written three of the planned 10 stories about Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, the future King Aegon V.
‘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,’ said Martin.
We can also rule out the possibility of the new shows being about Robert Baratheon’s rebellion that saw him claim the Iron Throne.
‘By the time I finish writing A Song of Ice and Fire, you will know every important thing that happened in Robert’s Rebellion,’ concluded Martin.
Who will be in the cast?
As Bloys confirmed, there will be none of the same characters in the new shows as in the flagship, so it seems almost impossible that any of the current cast will be making an appearance.
Emilia Clarke has said of her Daenerys Targaryen character: ‘I am doing one more season. And then that’ll be it.’
Kit Harrington has also seemed to rule out any more Jon Snow: ‘There’s so much scope for this story that’s been going for thousands of years. I’m happy to step away from Jon Snow.’
So we know it won’t be any of our current favourites, but other than that, it is a mystery.
When are the release dates going to be?
There is clearly no firm date as yet, with Martin’s estimation of ‘one series emerging on air in 2019 or 2020’ being the best we have so far.
Bloys also commented: ‘The number-one priority in all of this is the final season of Game of Thrones.
‘I don’t want to do anything with a spin-off or anything that detracts or distracts from that.
‘That [final Game of Thrones] season will happen and my guess is it would be at least a year before you saw anything else.’
We can expect many more details to emerge before then as some of the scripts will be taken to pilot, however, we will have to be very patient before that happens.
MORE: Rita Simons has stopped watching EastEnders after she was axed as Roxy Mitchell
MORE: Danielle Lloyd hits out at mummy-shamers – but angers fans with her own flat tummy pic
