Fantasy writer George R.R. Martin took to his blog Wednesday to offer updates on his many Game of Thrones spinoff series, and books including the long-awaited The Winds of Winter, among other projects. He also shared his thoughts on early cuts of HBO’s prequel series House of the Dragon, which he says is “coming soon.”
“HOUSE OF THE DRAGON has wrapped in London and is now in post-production,” he wrote. “What I have seen, I have loved. I am eager to see more.”
Martin says he is developing GoT spinoff series across live-action and animation, for HBO and HBO Max, respectively. “No, can’t tell you how many,” he said. “But it is my hope that a number of these shows will get on the air.”
Those on the live-action side he could speak to included a series centered on the character Corlys Celaryon (initially titled Nine Voyages, but now called The Sea Snake), for which Rome creator-showrunner Bruno Heller has written the pilot; Nymeria series Ten Thousand Ships, for which showrunner Amanda Segel has delivered “a couple of drafts”; and a Dunk & Egg series from Steve Conrad, based on his novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg, the first season of which will adapt Martin’s novella, The Hedge Knight. “My team and I have had some great sessions with Steve and his team, and we really hit it off. He’s determined to do a faithful adaptation of the stories, which is exactly what I want; these characters and stories are very precious to me,” wrote Martin. “Contrary to what you may have read on line, the show will not be called DUNK & EGG, which could be mistaken for a sitcom by viewers unfamiliar with the stories. We’re leaning toward A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS for the series title, though THE HEDGE KNIGHT has its partisans as well.”
On the animation side, Martin would only speak to a series set in Yi Ti, a region in the far east of the continent of Essos, the working title of which is The Golden Empire. “We have a great young writer on that one too, and I think the art and animation is just going to be beautiful,” wrote Martin. “I would tell you more if I could. I don’t think I can say a word about the other animated shows. Not yet.”
Martin said that he’s seen comments online questioning how involved he is in the upcoming Game of Thrones projects, sharing that “the answer is: a lot.”
“It’s my world, and while I have been working closely with some fantastic writers and showrunners, ultimately it is up to me to try to keep the canon… well, canonical…,” said Martin, “and to do all I can to help make the new shows great. (And I love these stories too).”
Martin also confirmed today that he is “still working” on The Winds of Winter, the anticipated sixth novel in the epic series A Song of Ice and Fire on which Game of Thrones was based. “I made a lot of progress on WINDS in 2020, and less in 2021…” he wrote, “but ‘less’ is not ‘none.’ “
In addition to Winds, Martin is currently writing “the second volume of Archmaester Gyldayn’s history, FIRE & BLOOD”, with “a couple hundred pages” down and “a long way to go”; as well as “an illustrated, condensed version of FIRE & BLOOD” done with Elio Garcia, Linda Antonsson and Raya Golden, and another book that he describes as “a Who’s Who in Westeros.”
While Martin maintains that “the world of Westeros, the world of A SONG OF ICE & FIRE” remains his top priority, he’s also currently at work on series including Roadmarks for HBO, Dark Winds for AMC, Wild Cards for UCP and Peacock, and the short film Night of the Cooters from director Vincent D’Onofrio, which he says “should be finished this month.”
Airing between 2011-2019, Game of Thrones was an epic fantasy series created for HBO by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss that saw nine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, with an ancient enemy returning after being dormant for millennia. House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of that series and will tell the story of the House Targaryen, associated with GoT characters including Emilia Clarke’s dragon-taming Daenerys.
