The Game of Thrones play is "coming along splendidly." And is there an Arya Stark spinoff in the works?

The Game of Thrones franchise is busting out all over these days. The prequel show House of the Dragon just wrapped up its second season, the prequel show A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is coming next year, and we've known for a while that playwright Duncan Macmillan was writing a play called The Iron Throne, about the fateful Tourney at Harrenhal that led to Robert's Rebellion, the war that set the stage for the events of Game of Thrones.

We hadn't heard much about The Iron Throne in awhile, but leave it to Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin to update us on his Not a Blog. The author visited London earlier this year and saw MacMillan's play People, Places and Things. "I think we’re in good hands. Duncan’s play was dark, powerful, and intense. We grabbed a lunch at our hotel a few days before seeing the play, and talked about THE IRON THRONE."

"I am told that the show is coming along splendidly. Our team did a run-through for the managers of a score of West End theatres (before we arrived, alas, so we did not get to see it), and the excitement we palpable, we hear. We have not nailed down our opening day yet (next year, most likely), but it looks as though we will have our choice of theatres."

In the absence of new information about The Iron Throne, I was prepared to believe that it was being put on the backburner, but it sounds like MacMillan and company have been laboring behind the scenes this whole time. If it's already in shape enough to perform a run-through for theater managers, it's very far along. Like Martin says, we could be watching the world's first Game of Thrones play next year! Most likely, the play will debut in London first before possibly coming overseas if it's a success.

George R.R. Martin hints at Arya Stark spinoff?

Martin also mentioned getting together with Game of Thrones veteran Maisie Williams, who played the revenge-obsessed Arya Stark, for "pizza and pasta." Sounds innocent enough, but he hints that there may have been more to it: "[We] talked about… well, no, better not get into that, do not want to jinx it," he wrote. "But it could be so much fun."

Whenever the topic of Game of Thrones spinoffs comes up, one of the first things people suggest is a sequel show or movie about Arya Stark, who ended the series by getting on a boat and sailing into the unknown. Of all the characters, she has a very wide-open ending, so why not follow it up?

Is that what Martin is hinting at here? Might it be related to the recent news that HBO is in early development on a Game of Thrones movie? (I would see an Arya Stark movie, for the record.) If so, I'm sure HBO isn't happy about Martin talking about this in public, but he's never been one to shy away from expressing himself.

It's possibly nothing will come of this talk; HBO has developed other Game of Thrones spinoffs behind the scenes before deciding not to pursue them further. But it is another thing to keep an eye on. The list of those is getting pretty long.

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