The other day, HBO announced that it had ordered 10 episodes of a new series called House of the Dragon, a Game of Thrones prequel about the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war that tore Westeros apart some hundred-odd years before the series as we know it began. We were, needless to say, psyched.
Also pumped is A Song of Ice and Fire writer George R.R. Martin, who’s on board as a co-creator. Martin also wrote Fire & Blood, the history of the Targaryen dynasty on which House of the Dragon is based. In a new post on his Not a Blog, Martin heaped praised on Colony creator Ryan Condal, who will be showrunning the new series alongside Game of Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik, the guy behind classic episodes like “Hardhome” and “The Winds of Winter.”
[Condal is] a terrific writer… and a fan of my books since well before we met. He tells me that he discovered the series just after A STORM OF SWORDS was published, and “I’ve loved the books for 19 years.” (He is also a huge fan of my Dunk & Egg stories. In fact, that was the show he wanted to do initially, but I’m not prepared to bring Dunk & Egg to television until I’ve written quite a few more stories). Working with Ryan on the development of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON has been a dream.
Condal isn’t the only person interested in seeing Martin’s Dunk & Egg novellas brought to the small screen. Their lower stakes and episodic format would be a perfect fit for television, but alas, we’ll have to wait for Martin to write a few more legs of their journey.
Speaking of writing, Martin is actually interested in scripting a few episodes of the series himself…although that comes with one very important caveat. “[I]f things work out, I may even be able to script a few episodes, as I did for the first four seasons of GAME OF THRONES,” he mused. “But… let me make this perfectly clear… I am not taking on any scripts until I have finished and delivered WINDS OF WINTER. Winter is still coming, and WINDS remains my priority, as much as I’d love to write an episodes of HOUSE.”
Okay, I hope that comforts anyone who was thinking of panicking over yet another delay for the long awaited sixth chapter in the Song of Ice and Fire saga, The Winds of Winter. It’s getting done before Martin sets pen to paper on anything else.
That said, it’s nice to see how interested he is. On his blog, he says that he actually pitched this concept to HBO back in the summer of 2016, when they were first talking about the possibility of Game of Thrones successor shows. (“[T]hough the title has changed a couple times during that process,” he admits.)
But as excited as we all for a Targaryen-themed prequel show, we also have to say goodbye to Bloodmoon, a different prequel series that would have been set during the Long Night, thousands of years before even House of the Dragon. Martin offered some parting words:
I do not know why HBO decided not to go to series on this one, but I do not think it had to do with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. This was never an either/or situation. If television has room enough for multiple CSIs and CHICAGO shows… well, Westeros and Essos are a lot bigger, with thousands of years of history and enough tales and legends and characters for a dozen shows. Heartbreaking as it is to work for years on a pilot, to pour your blood and sweat and tears into it, and have it come to nought, it’s not at all uncommon. I’ve been there myself, more than once. I know [showrunner Jane Goldman] and her team are feeling the disappointment just now, and they have all my sympathy… with my thanks for all their hard work, and my good wishes for whatever they do next.
Hear, hear.
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