HBO CEO: Game of Thrones prequel scripts are an “embarrassment of riches”

HBO is busy. As the network prepares to film the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, it’s developing several potential prequel series to take up the mantle when the show is over. Speaking at the Mipcom trade show in Cannes, HBO CEO Richard Plepler told Variety that he likes what he sees.

At the moment, HBO has five writers working on five different shows, each of them set during a different period in George R.R. Martin’s invented history of Westeros. Plepler wouldn’t provide details on the plot, but was quick to praise the work being done. “[I]t’s a fantastic group of writers and talent, most of whom have lived inside the Thrones eco-system so are very, very familiar with its intricacies.”

Plepler’s comment about the writers living “inside the Thrones eco-system” is interesting, since only one of them — Game of Thrones co-executive producer Bryan Cogman — has actually worked on the show. The others — Max Borenstein, Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland and Carly Wray — were brought in from outside. However, George R.R. Martin is working with all of them to different degrees; he even said he’s “co-creating” Cogman’s project.

Plepler was also reluctant to share exactly what he’d seen of the prequels, but it sounds like it’s preliminary materials. “I think we will find with this embarrassment of riches an exciting property for us to move forward with. We are looking [at] some things, I have read a couple of early bibles and I’m excited about what I’ve seen.” (A “show bible” is a reference document that includes all the background necessary to remember when writing a show. We can only imagine these have to be in the case of Game of Thrones and its spinoffs.)

Time-wise, HBO programming president Casey Bloys has said that no prequel will air before the main series is over. We know that Jane Goldman, at least, has finished her script. Given Plepler’s comments, perhaps the others are nearly complete. In any case, they give fans a reason to be upbeat about the series’ future.

Next: Actor Marc Rissmann joins the cast of Game of Thrones season 8 as a book character

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