Game of Thrones forever: HBO developing 4 different spinoffs

[Marvolo]

I was coughing over the "success" of adapting that material well and faithfully, not how much the films cost or what they made. Plenty of films have costed a lot to make and generated big box office numbers but that says nothing of their actual quality. The LOTR had a few terrible scenes but the Hobbit trilogy was a blasphemous travesty.

I would HATE for Jackson (and his bimbo squad) to touch this material. People complain about D&D but Jackson's treatment would break the boards.

I think Roose was referring to financial success. Not the quality of adaption.

 

[Roose Bolton]

I was being facetious in general because GRRM didn't have Tolkienesque appendices in his novels that covered the same swaths of information.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I don't know who is going to survive, but I'd totally be up for a sequel of some sort.

 

[Marvolo]

I was being facetious in general because GRRM didn't have Tolkienesque appendices in his novels that covered the same swaths of information.

But there is the World of Ice and Fire book. Jackson would adapt that book into at least 10 trilogies.

 

[Roose Bolton]

But there is the World of Ice and Fire book. Jackson would adapt that book into at least 10 trilogies.

It would singlehandedly keep every family in New Zealand fed and clothed for the next 3 decades.

 

[TheRandomFanBoy]

How about a Game Of Thrones comedy called "You Know Nothing" starring Ygritte with her going around Westeros & talking to people & people tell her random stuff & facts & she constantly states "You know nothing" & continues on her merry way

 

[dude stannis]

For that suggestion alone, I'm glad you're banned

 

[godisawesome]

I'd love a show about Bloodraven, from being legitimized to becoming the three-eyed raven.

Bloodraven's a bit like Tyrion With Magic, considering his fratricidal relationship with his half-brothers feeding into his infamous reputation. It's kind of like how Maekar Targaryen feels like Stannis Minus Mellisandre Plus Robert's Strength. Plus, if you've got the Winterfell succession Crisis, it's a bit like having the Game of Thrones, but restricted to the North, alongside Dagon Greyjoy's raids and the Blackfyre Rebellions.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Stephen Dillane in a silver wig. You've got yourself a show.

 

[BullMcGiveny]

Just do the whole show over again, but from Ghost and Pounce's perspectives.

 

[BullMcGiveny]

Bloodraven's a bit like Tyrion With Magic, considering his fratricidal relationship with his half-brothers feeding into his infamous reputation. It's kind of like how Maekar Targaryen feels like Stannis Minus Mellisandre Plus Robert's Strength. Plus, if you've got the Winterfell succession Crisis, it's a bit like having the Game of Thrones, but restricted to the North, alongside Dagon Greyjoy's raids and the Blackfyre Rebellions.

Not sure if you agree or not, isn't the Northern succession crisis poised to be subject of the next Dunk and Egg?

 

[scarlet-witch]

I'm holding out for a Tourney of Haranhall vision this season, but if we don't get it, I'd love to see that and Robert's Rebellion.

 

[Charlatan]

I'm holding out for a Tourney of Haranhall vision this season, but if we don't get it, I'd love to see that and Robert's Rebellion.

I think we'll get the Haranhall vision this season. And Robert's Rebellion is a likely chance since many sets and locations can be re-used.

 

[godisawesome]

Not sure if you agree or not, isn't the Northern succession crisis poised to be subject of the next Dunk and Egg?

Yep.

And it'd be awesome to have an HBO series focusing on Southerners where the Starks and other Northerners are the special guest stars. Heck, I'd even be interested in seeing the Boltons around that time; you've got to figure they're backing a particular claimant, getting mutinous, or maybe strangely proving the Stark's mercy has some value by being a more sane faction for once.

 

[TheFuture]

I still think the best idea for a spinoff is a Targaryen series that follows the dynasty in different eras with each season basically being a mini-series.

Season 1 would the conquest of Westeros.

Season 2 would be the Faith Militant Uprising/Reign of Maegor the Cruel.

Season 3 would be the reign of Jaehaerys and his grandson and could span the golden age of Westeros.

Season 4 could be the Dance of Dragons.

Season 5 could focus on the Blackfyre Rebellions.

Season 6, the life of Aegon the Unlikely.

Season 7's focus would be the War of the Ninepenny Kings.

And Season 8/the final season could be Robert's Rebellion/the fall of the Targaryen Dynasty.

What would be interesting about this format is several of these stories span the period of years or even decades. So it would have to be a different format the employs large time jumps between episodes (almost like the miniseries The Kennedys). This is beneficial because it instantly sets the spinoff apart from Game of Thrones. Further, it could result in constantly changing casts and maybe even bringing in some bigger name actors who can't commit to 4 or 5 seasons but can commit to 4 or 5 episodes.

That sounds really good, I'd like to see that. I think it would work really well as a companion to GoT as well as given I was a show watcher before book reader, it took me a while to take the Targaryens seriously.

 

[BullMcGiveny]

Yep.

And it'd be awesome to have an HBO series focusing on Southerners where the Starks and other Northerners are the special guest stars. Heck, I'd even be interested in seeing the Boltons around that time; you've got to figure they're backing a particular claimant, getting mutinous, or maybe strangely proving the Stark's mercy has some value by being a more sane faction for once.

Well if they're doing an anthology, Dunk&Egg is a no-brainer, certainly. It just probably needn't take more than couple of seasons.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Wachet auf GRRM, wachet!

About Those Spinoffs...
So while I was on the road out California way, the story broke about the four GAME OF THRONES spinoffs that HBO is developing. And of course the news has since spread everywhere, all over the web and all over the world.

Yes, it's true. More or less. Though, as is all too common these days, various distortions and misapprehensions have crept into some of the reports along the way. And television being the fast-moving business that it is, there have already been some further developments.

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 AfterMASH 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.

Yes, I am involved, and have been for months. I had my first meeting with HBO about the possibility of a successor show back in August, when I pitched them two possible series. (One of those is among the concepts being developed, one is not). In the months that followed, other writers were brought in and pitched other ideas. Ultimately HBO decided to go ahead with four separate developments, to be written by Max Borenstein, Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland, and Carly Wray.

It was stated in some of the reports that I am working with two of the four writers. That's not quite right. I've actually been working with all four of the writers. Every one of the four has visited me here in Santa Fe, some of them more than once, and we've spent days together discussing their ideas, the history of Westeros and the world beyond, and sundry details found only in The World of Ice & Fire and The Lands of Ice & Fire... when we weren't drinking margaritas and eating chile rellenos and visiting Meow Wolf. They are all amazing talents, and I am excited to be working with them. In between visits, I've been in touch with them by phone, text, and email, and I expect there will be a lot more back-and-forth as we move forward.

And there's more. 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.

Some of the reports of these developments seem to suggest that HBO might be adding four successor shows to the schedule to replace GAME OF THRONES. Decades of experience in television and film have taught me that nothing is ever really certain... but I do think it's very unlikely that we'll be getting four (or five) series. At least not immediately. What we do have here is an order for four -- now five -- pilot scripts. How many pilots will be filmed, and how many series might come out of that, remains to be seen. (If we do get five series on the air, I might have to change my name to Dick Direwolf).

The one goal that EVERYONE involved shares here is to make these new shows just as good as GAME OF THRONES itself. No easy task, mind you. David Benioff and Dan Weiss are a tough, tough act to follow, as all those Emmys demonstrate.

I can't tell you what the shows will be about (well, I could, but I won't), but I will tell you a couple of things they WON'T be. Which will disappoint some of you, sure, but better to do that now than later, I think.

We're not doing Dunk & Egg. Eventually, sure, I'd love that, and so would many of you. But I've only written and published three novellas to date, and there are at least seven or eight or ten more I want to write. We all know how slow I am, and how fast a television show can move. I don't want to repeat what happened with GAME OF THRONES itself, where the show gets ahead of the books. When the day comes that I've finished telling all my tales of Dunk & Egg, then we'll do a tv show about them... but that day is still a long ways off.

We're not doing Robert's Rebellion either. I know thousands of you want that, I know there's a petition... but by the time I finish writing A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, you will know every important thing that happened in Robert's Rebellion. There would be no surprises or revelations left in such a show, just the acting out of conflicts whose resolutions you already know. That's not a story I want to tell just now; it would feel too much like a twice-told tale.
More than that, I will not say. Feel free to makes your guesses, if you like... but I am not going to be confirming or denying anything, so don't expect replies.

And yes, before someone asks, I AM STILL WORKING ON WINDS OF WINTER and will continue working on it until it's done. 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.

 

[Pink Ranger]

I think a multi-cam ABC-family style sitcom with Jaimie Lannister, Sam Tarly and Greyworm as mismatched roommates would be a licence to print money.

 

[sp00derman]

And there's more. 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.

Classic.

 

[Marvolo]

8 or 10 D&E stories and 5 Planetos shows...its like watching a squirrel on crack...

 

[Roose Bolton]

He's said before he could as many as 12 more if he wanted to cover every single event in their lives, so he's kind of toned it down a little there.

But now that we know neither it nor Robert's Rebellion are going to be done, I've no idea where they're going to go with it. Realistically those two seemed like the most possible...

 

[Charlatan]

How about the Doom of Valyria? I'd love to see the events leading up to that.

 

[Marvolo]

I hope one of these spinoffs shows us Asshai by the Shadow or Yeen on the continent of Sothoryos. Those two locations interest me a lot.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Yeah give me Sothoryos. It's like Africa, only with Basilisks, Wyverns, Ape Men and Dinosaurs.

Have it be about like, some ancient Targaryen dragon rider or shipwrecked Greyjoy washed on its dark shores.

 

[scarlet-witch]

Asshai is the one land that I don't mind never learning more about. I like all the mystery surrounding it.