With just three more episodes in HBO's wildly popular
Game of Thrones series remaining, George R. R. Martin — author of the novels on which the show is based on — has updated fans on the future of the franchise on the small screen. We've known that HBO has had numerous spinoff shows planned, but various reports about cancellations have led to some confusion.
Looking to set the record straight, while not revealing too much, Martin took to his blog to provide an update on the
Game of Thrones successor shows in development (he hates the term "spinoffs").
Oh, and speaking of television, don’t believe everything you read. Internet reports are notoriously unreliable. We have had five different GAME OF THRONES successor shows in development (I mislike the term “spinoffs”) at HBO, and three of them are still moving forward nicely. The one I am not supposed to call THE LONG NIGHT will be shooting later this year, and two other shows remain in the script stage, but are edging closer. What are they about? I cannot say. But maybe some of you should pick up a copy of FIRE & BLOOD and come up with your own theories.
A New York Times Bestseller,
Fire & Blood is Martin's "imaginary history book" of the Targaryens. Its synopsis reads:
Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & Bloodbegins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.
What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why was it so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What were Maegor the Cruel’s worst crimes? What was it like in Westeros when dragons ruled the skies? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed.
While undoubtedly an intriguing premise, it's more likely that many of the people who watch
Game of Thrones will wait for HBO's next series.
What we know right now is that "
The Long Night" —
which HBO has ordered a pilot for — is set thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, chronicling "the world's descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour." The series
will star Naomi Watts and Josh Whitehouse as the leads
with a supporting cast that includes Naomi Ackie (
Star Wars: Episode IX,
Yardie), Denise Gough (
People Places and Things), Jamie Campbell Bower (
Camelot), Shella Atim (
Harlots), and Ivanno Jeremiah (
Black Mirror).
Meanwhile, Bryan Cogman's untitled spinoff
has reportedly been canceled.
Beyond that, not much else is known regarding HBO's plans for the
Game of Thrones franchise. Thankfully, there are still three more episodes left in the current and final season.