Last week, it was reported that HBO is developing four potential spinoffs set in the world of Game of Thrones. It was revealed that those stories will be set at different time periods of Westeros, but they didn't specifify if any of them are considered prequels, sequels, or just a spinoff. We also know that author George R.R. Martin is involved in the projects, and is helping a team of writers develop them.
Now Martin has shared some details about the project, and revealed that a fifth spinoff is in development. On his "Not A Blog", he writes:
"We had four scripts in development when I arrived in LA last week, but by the time I left we had five. We have added a fifth writer to the original four. No, I will not reveal the name here. HBO announced the names of the first four, and will no doubt announce the fifth as well, once his deal has closed. He's a really terrific addition, however, a great guy and a fine writer, and aside from me and maybe Elio and Linda, I don't know anyone who knows and loves Westeros as well as he does."
Teasing us about the fifth writer sounds promising. If they're hiring a solid team of writers for the spinoffs, they're probably confident that these stories are worth developing. The author went on to explain how he wouldn't consider them "spinoffs" since he hates that term. He'd rather call them "successor shows" set in a "secondary universe":
"For what it's worth, I don't especially like the term 'spinoff,' and I don't think it really applies to these new projects. What we're talking about are new stories set in the 'secondary universe' (to borrow Tolkien's term) of Westeros and the world beyond, the world I created for A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. It
is
a world, and a pretty big one, and if there were eight million stories in the naked city back in the 50s, just think how many more there are in an entire world, and one with thousands of years of recorded history.
"None of these new shows will be 'spinning off' from GOT in the traditional sense. We are not talking Joey or After MASH or even Frazier or Lou Grant, where characters from one show continue on to another. So all of you who were hoping for the further adventures of Hot Pie are doomed to disappointment. 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."
Martin has been working on developing these "successor shows" since he made the first pitch back in August, and he seems excited about them, but what about his long-awaited Winds of Winter? According to him, he's still working on it, but sadly, he didn't announce a release date yet. Martin concluded by explaining:
"I will confess, I do wish I could clone myself, or find a way to squeeze more hours into the day, or a way to go without sleep. But this is what it is, so I keep on juggling. WINDS OF WINTER, five successor shows, FIRE AND BLOOD (that's the GRRMarillion, remember?), four new Wild Cards books, some things I can't tell you about yet... it's a good thing I love my work."
Since the show surpassed the books' events, I lost my interest in looking forward for Winds of Winter. What's the point of reading it if we already know where the major plots are going?
The 7-episode Game of Thrones Season 7 is set to premiere on July 16, 2017.
Related:John Bradley Says There's Probably "Gonna Be a Point to Keeping Sam Around"
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