George R. R. Martin discusses Game of Thrones prequel series and Winds of Winter

Game of Thrones is a big show, and while it’s coming to an end quite soon, it’s still not game over for the franchise. HBO had five prequel show ideas in the works, and from a recent report, one of the five has been ordered for a pilot by HBO already! In the wake of that development, George R. R. Martin, creator of the Game of Thrones universe, took to his Not A Blog to talk about the prequel, and the next book in the series, The Winds of Winter. Read on!

First off, GRRM made it clear that the idea was picked for a pilot, and not for a whole show yet. A pilot is when the production makes the first episode, which is then put to test by the network to see if it’s worthy of being developed further:

“We’re very early in the process, of course, with the pilot order just in, so we don’t have a director yet, or a cast, or a location, or even a title. (My vote would be THE LONG NIGHT, which says it all, but I’d be surprised if that’s where we end up. More likely HBO will want to work the phrase “game of thrones” in there somewhere. We’ll know sooner or later).”

He also clarified that this pilot travels way, way back to the beginning of his “fake history,” set about 10,000 years before Game of Thrones. The project is headed by Jane Goldman, who wrote the pilot, and has worked on amazing movies like Stardust, Kick-Ass, and the Kingsman series, who GRRM says deserves most of the credit:

“I’ve consulted with all of the writers on all of the successor shows, and several of them have visited me in Santa Fe for long days of discussion, and we’ve gone back and forth in email, text, and telephone, so I have definitely been involved… but really, the accolades here should go to Jane. She has been an absolute thrill to work with… and my god, what a talent.”

He also revealed the fate of the other prequel projects:

“As for the other successor shows… if you have been following along, you know that we started with four, and eventually went to five. One of those has been shelved, I am given to understand, and of course Jane’s pilot is now moving to film. But that does not mean the others are dead. Three more GAME OF THRONES prequels, set in different periods and featuring different characters and storylines, remain in active development. Everything I am told indicates that we could film at least one more pilot, and maybe more than one, in the years to come.”

To wrap it up, GRRM gave an update on The Winds of Winter, which is something his commenters regularly pester him for:

“And yes, before you ask, work on WINDS OF WINTER continues, and remains my top priority. It is ridiculous to think otherwise. If I wasn’t busy with WINDS, don’t you think I’d be scripting one or more of these pilots myself? It’s not as if I’ve never written for TV…”

Well, that’s enough reassurance for us. What do you guys think? Excited for the prequels? Talk to us in the comments, down below!