George R.R. Martin, author of A Game of Thrones and executive producer of the HBO series based on the fantasy novels, wrote in his official blog yesterday that three GoT “successor shows”—he dislikes the term “spinoffs”—are “moving forward nicely.”
This is good news for fans of the decade-long television juggernaut, which after tonight’s episode will be over halfway through its final season. In 2017, Martin said that there would be five GoT spinoff/successors developed by HBO, but we learned last month that one of these—a rumored prequel from one of the show’s main scriptwriters, Bryan Cogman—had been nixed.
As for the three green-lighted successors, Martin writes that, “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.” Indeed, the so-called Long Night, a prequel, has already been cast.
As for the content of the other two, Martin suggested that “maybe some of you should pick up a copy of FIRE & BLOOD and come up with your own theories.” According to Deadline, Fire & Blood became a New York Times bestseller after it was published last year. It takes place 300 years before the events of the current Game of Thrones, and chronicles events around House Targaryen following the Doom of Valyria.
It remains to be seen how many of GoT’s spinoffs come to fruition. But we have our fingers crossed that Martin will have time to conclude his A Song of Ice and Fire series—the inspiration for the current Game of Thrones show—which saw its last installment in 2011, and has yet to be completed.