Following Bryan Cogman‘s admission that his ‘Game of Thrones’ spinoff series was dead, George R.R. Martin, whose ‘A Song of Ice & Fire’ books inspired the whole thing, has declared that three planned series are still in the works. Initially, HBO set five potential series in development, but it was never expected that all five would make it onto the air.
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On Martin’s “not a blog” ‘Stuff and Nonsense’, he wrote:
“Oh, and speaking of television, don’t believe everything you read. Internet reports are notoriously unreliable. We have had five different GAME OF THRONES successor shows in development (I mislike the term “spinoffs”) at HBO, and three of them are still moving forward nicely. The one I am not supposed to call THE LONG NIGHT will be shooting later this year, and two other shows remain in the script stage, but are edging closer. What are they about? I cannot say. But maybe some of you should pick up a copy of FIRE & BLOOD and come up with your own theories.”
‘Fire & Blood’ is Martin’s newest book, set before the events of ‘A Song of Ice & Fire’ and focusing on the dragons of Westeros.
Cogman’s “successor series” is among those cut, but one that is moving forward is the one Martin calls ‘The Long Night’ although that may not be its final name, which was crafted by Jane Goldman while working closely with Martin. That series is a White Walkers origin story and is set thousands of years before ‘GoT’, so there will have very few connections to the current hit.
That one is the spinoff that is furthest along. It already has a synopsis:
“Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series
chronicles the world’s descent from the Golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour.
And only one thing is for sure: from the horrifying secrets of Westeros’s history to
the true origin of the white walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend…
it’s not the story we think we know.”
SJ Clarkson will direct the pilot. Naomi Watts has been cast in the lead, as “a charismatic socialite with a hidden secret.” Josh Whitehouse has been cast as the male lead, but nothing is known about his character yet. The cast also includes Naomi Ackie, Sheila Atim, Jamie Campbell Bower, Denise Gough, Georgie Henley, Ivanno Jeremiah, Toby Regbo, and Alex Sharp.
RELATED: George R.R. Martin Confirms That The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Prequel Isn’t “Yet” Named ‘The Long Night’
Not much is known about the other shows, although Martin has championed a concept called ‘Spear Carriers’ set at the same time as ‘GoT’, but featuring common people instead of the nobility. It remains to be seen if that is one of the two other concepts that Martin says are in the scripting stage.
Are you looking forward to journeying back to Westeros? Can any of these newer shows capture the magic of ‘Game of Thrones’?
