George R.R. Martin pulls curtain back on Game of Thrones prequel shows

Writing on his Not a Blog, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin has decided to drop a bunch of updates on us, about The Winds of Winter, about the forthcoming Game of Thrones prequel series on HBO, about some new book projects. Let’s hit some highlights.

No, George R.R. Martin isn’t done with The Winds of Winter

Let’s start with the obvious. As Martin himself admits in his post, all a lot of fans want from him is for him to finish The Winds of Winter, the long-awaited (like, over 10 years now long-awaited) sixth book in his Song of Ice and Fire series.

Well, it’s not done, and his update isn’t likely to please anyone who’s heard all this before. “Yes, of course I am still working on THE WINDS OF WINTER,” he wrote. “I have stated that a hundred times in a hundred venues, having to restate it endlessly is just wearisome. I made a lot of progress on WINDS in 2020, and less in 2021… but ‘less’ is not ‘none.'”

"The world of Westeros, the world of A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, is my number one priority, and will remain so until the story is told."

Super.

New books set in Westeros are coming

Fans, including us, have talked ad nauseam about why The Winds of Winter is taking so long to write. One of the reasons is obviously the number of other projects that Martin is involved in.

And he’s involved in a lot of projects, including developing TV shows like Roadmarks for HBO, Dark Winds for AMC and Wild Cards for Peacock. “I like working,” he wrote. “Writing, editing, producing.  There is nothing I like better than storytelling.”

There are also some new books set in the World of Ice and Fire on the fire…in addition to the one everyone wants. He mentions there’s a “Who’s Who in Westeros” sort of book in development.

There’s also the sequel to Fire & Blood, Martin’s fake history of the Targaryen dynasty. The first volume, which is an entertaining read, came out in 2018, and will serve as the basis for the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon. But there’s still a lot more Targaryen history to cover. He’s thinking of calling the second (and purportedly final volume) Blood & Fire rather than Fire & Blood Part 2, an idea I approve of. “Got a couple hundred pages of that one written, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Martin also wants to write more novellas about Dunk and Egg, a knight and squire who wandered Westeros around 100 years before the story we know. Those novellas are forming the basis for another Game of Thrones prequel series on HBO. Speaking of…

George R.R. Martin gives updates on the Corlys Velaryon show, Ten Thousand Ships, and animated Game of Thrones prequel series

HBO is working on several Game of Thrones prequel series, although the only one we know is coming is House of the Dragon, which is set some 200 years in the past and tells the story of a brutal Targaryen civil war that tore Westeros apart. “What I have seen, I have loved,” Martin wrote. “I am eager to see more.”

House of the Dragon has wrapped production and will premiere sometime this year. But there are other series in the works, although it’s impossible to tell whether any of them will actually make it to air. “[I]t is my hope that a number of these shows will get on the air,” Martin wrote. “Not all, no, it is never all, but more than one. I certainly hope so.”

We already mentioned the Dunk and Egg show, which Martin shares is being helmed by writer-director Steve Conrad. “My team and I have had some great sessions with Steve and his team, and we really hit it off,” Martin wrote. “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.”

"The first season will be an adaptation of the first novella, “The Hedge Knight.”   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."

There are two other live-action series in the works. The first is about the younger days of Corlys Velaryon, a famed explorer played in his latter years on House of the Dragon by Steve Toussaint. That one is being managed by Bruno Heller, the guy behind HBO’s Rome. “That one started out as NINE VOYAGES, but now we’re calling it THE SEA SNAKE, since we wanted to avoid having two shows with numbers in the title,” Martin wrote. “The other one TEN THOUSAND SHIPS, the Nymeria series. Amanda Segel, our showrunner, has delivered a couple drafts of that one, and we are forging ahead.”

There are even a few animated Game of Thrones shows in development, including one about the distant nation of Yi Ti, a Chinese-inspired culture only glancingly mentioned in Martin’s books. The show is called The Golden Empire. “[W]e have a great young writer on that one too, and I think the art and animation is just going to be beautiful,” Martin wrote.

George R.R. Martin is “deeply, heavily involved” in Game of Thrones spinoff shows

There’s been some questions as to how involved Martin is with these projects, but he’s here to clear it up. “The answer is: a lot,” he wrote. “Deeply, heavily involved in every one of the new shows.”

"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… and to do all I can to help make the new shows great.  (And I love these stories too)."

On one level, that’s good, because we want these series — whichever make it to air — to be as high-quality as possible. Although this isn’t likely to placate anyone wishing Martin would drop what else he’s doing to work on The Winds of Winter.

What do you make of all this? Discuss.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels