‘Game of Thrones’ Producer George R.R. Martin Announces 5 Spin-Off Scripts

‘Game of Thrones’ Producer George R.R. Martin Announces 5 Spin-Off Scripts

The HBO series “Game of Thrones” (GoT) has shocked audiences around the world for seven seasons. Unlike most television series, the producers are not scared to kill off main characters and introduce new ones in a single episode.

Now, the wait for the final season is looming over GoT fans everywhere. Questions like, “Who will be killed next,” come to mind for viewers, but the most important question on everyone’s mind is, “Who will finally win the Iron Throne and rule Westeros?”Although filming of Season 8 “Game of Thrones” will begin in October 2017, the answers to these questions may have to wait until early 2019.

Even after these questions are answered in Season 8, fans of the show will most definitely go through withdrawals, quietly hiding in a corner curled up in a ball, with the end of their beloved series.

Luckily, on Sept. 20, 2017, George R.R. Martin blogged that there are five, “Game of Thrones” spin-off scripts, currently in the works. Martin and Bryan Cogman will co-create the fifth prequel series. Martin said that Cogman’s series is an adaptation and believes that it will thrill most readers of the books. He also stated it is set during an exciting period of Westerosi history. Maybe the distraction of the new series will be enough to bring those crawling to a corner, back to their television sets.

HBO’s programming president, Casey Bloys, recently told Entertainment Weekly (EW), the plan is to have one of the spin-off scripts become a show. However, Martin did say, no matter which script HBO chooses to develop, every one of “Game of Thrones” spin-off scripts, are prequels.

EW also confirmed that all of the GoT spin-off scripts are prequels. Entertainment Weekly’s James Hibberd wrote that all of them are set before the events in “Game of Thrones.” Going on to say that the prequels do not involve any members of the current cast, even though the term spin-off is often used to describe such projects, it is not technically correct.

The news that current cast members will not be in the prequels might be disconcerting to most GoT fans. However, the way to hurtle this dismay is to imagine all of the stories within the first series that fans may want more explanations about.

For instance, Bran’s Three-Eyed Raven ability and the glimpses into the past and future is a thrilling story aspect to the original HBO series. Bran’s abilities prove that audience members need a bit more information about the ancestors of the current “Game of Thrones” characters and tell fans just how important their stories are and that they need to be told.

Fans, like Adam Ozimek, want to know the origin of the White Walkers are and when the first man came to Westeros. While others, like Karan Omidvari, want to know the origin of the Mad King.

Without a doubt, even the excitement for the new spin-offs will not be enough for fans of the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys, played by Emilia Clarke. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the actress said:

I mean, I have no doubt there’ll be prequels and sequels and who knows what else. But I am doing one more season. And then that’ll be it.

This includes another fan favorite, Jon Snow, who is played by Kit Harington. He gave a similar response about his potential involvement in another series. He said it made sense to begin the series with new characters telling EW:

There’s so much scope for this story that’s been going for thousands of years. I’m happy to step away from Jon Snow, though I’m still interested in TV.

Of course, Jon and Daenerys’ story will be complete by the end of Season 8 of “Game of Thrones.”

Not only have Clarke and Harington had to keep zipped lips when it came to revealing spoilers, but of course, the rest of the cast did as well. There is speculation that the Targaryens and their predecessors will be up front and foremost in the spin-offs.

HBO has not confirmed how many of the “Game of Thrones” prequels will be produced. A spokesperson is quoted in saying that “the writers will take as much or as little time as they need and that they will evaluate what they have when the scripts are in.”

Martin’s book, the “Winds of Winter,” the sixth and final book in the “Song of Fire and Ice” series has not yet been announced for release.

By Tracy Blake
Edited by Jeanette Smith

Sources:

Bustle: The ‘Game of Thrones’ Spin-off Isn’t a Sequel, but that’s Actually Good News
Market Watch: Is HBO risking overkill with its five ‘Game of Thrones’ prequels?
Digital Spy: Game of Thrones prequel spin-off could launch as early as 2019

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of TaylorHerring’s Flickr Page – Creative Common Licence

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