With a second Game of Thrones prequel series now approaching a potential pilot order from HBO, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin shared his thoughts on what's ahead for the future of the fantasy series on TV.
On Thursday, Entertainment Weekly and other outlets reported that HBO was close to completing a deal for a second Game of Thrones prequel series based on the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
In a Monday blog post, Martin discussed the new series, further confirming that, of the five Game of Thrones prequels that entered development, only three are left standing. That would include Jane Goldman's untitled prequel, set before the arrival of the Targaryens in Westeros, which Martin describes as the show "I am still not supposed to call The Long Night," named after the winter when the White Walkers first swept down from the north. The other is this new series set during the Dance of the Dragons.
According to Martin, the pilot for The Long Night (or whatever it's eventually titled) is in post-production. He anticipates seeing a first cut of the episode soon, a month after visiting the show's sets in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Martin described the new show, which follows the Targaryens generations after Aegon the Conqueror's invasion of Westeros, as "set thousands of years after Jane's show in the history of Westeros" and based on material from his fictional history of the Targaryens, Fire & Blood.
Approximately 170 years before the events of Game of Thrones, war broke out over who would succeed King Viserys I on the Iron Throne: his daughter Rhaenyra or her half-brother, Aegon II. The resulting war decimated Westeros and the dragon population, which served both sides of the conflict. While Aegon II ostensibly won — after feeding Rhaenyra to his dragon — he succumbed to his own wounds months later and control of the Iron Throne passed to Rhaenyra's son, who became King Aegon III.
Martin revealed little about the potential pilot, except that it will, of course, feature dragons and that he found the script and series bible "terrific, first rate, exciting." He further confirmed the series already has a title, but not "the obvious title," suggesting the series likely won't be called Fire & Blood or Dance of the Dragons.
The potential pilot was written by Ryan Condal, who wrote the screenplay for the video game adaptation Rampage and the TV series Colony.
"I first met Ryan when he came to New Mexico a couple of years ago to shoot a pilot for a fantasy western called The Sixth Gun, based on the comic book," Martin wrote. "He's a helluva strong writer, and a huge fan of A Song of Ice & Fire, Dunk & Egg, and Westeros in general. I've loved working with him, and if the Seven Gods and HBO are kind, I hope to keep working with him for years to come on this new successor show, the title of which is... Ooops. Almost slipped. Can't say yet."
