George R.R. Martinhas signed a five-year deal with HBO to develop more projects for the network and for its streaming service, HBO Max, according toa report from THR. If someone still had any hope Martin would someday finish the books forA Song of Ice and Fire, which gave birth to theGame of ThronesTV series, this might be the final nail in that coffin.
The eight-figure deal was revealed soon after HBO announced it would be developingthree more spin-offsforGame of Thrones. BesidesHouse of Dragon, which will take place 300 years before the main series and focus on the House Targaryen, there are now five other spin-offs in early development: an animated series; theDunk and Eggproject based on book prequels Martin wrote;9 Voyages, focused on House Velaryon;10,000 Shipsfollowing Princess Nymeria and the founding of the kingdom of Dorne; and finally an unnamed project that takes place on King’s Landing slum of Flea Bottom.
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If all these projects end up greenlighted, this means a major expansion to theGame of Thronesuniverse on TV, especially if all the series end up being interconnected. The deal with Martin makes a lot of sense for HBO because keeping the original author attached to the new productions can help keep fans interested, especially after the series finale ofGame of Throneswas highly (and justly) criticized. Martin could also come up with original ideas, both to expand theGoTuniverse and to create some completely new programming.
Martin gained international recognition after his unfinishedA Song of Ice and Fireseries scored the highly acclaimed HBO adaptation. The fifth book of the series,A Dance with Dragons, was released in July 2011, only three months after the first season ofGame of Thronespremiered on HBO. Prior to that, there had been a six-year gap between Martin finishing the fourth and fifth books of his magnum opus.
However, given the author’s new television deal,A Song of Ice and Firemay no longer be the main priority on Martin’s agenda, and it seems we are no closer to readingThe Winds of Winter. All we can hope now is that whatever comes out of the new deal with HBO will be better than that final season ofGame of Thrones. Otherwise, audiences could be trading the chance to read Martin’s version ofA Song of Ice and Firefor a shared universe of disappointments.
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