Board 8 > GRRM clarifies on GoT spinoffs; not Robert's Rebellion or Dunk and Egg

(+) Yeah! (+)

http://grrm.livejournal.com/536859.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Plenty more at the link.

For what it's worth, I don't especially like the term "spinoff," and I don't think it really applies to these new projects. What we're talking about are new stories set in the "secondary universe" (to borrow Tolkien's term) of Westeros and the world beyond, the world I created for A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. It is a world, and a pretty big one, and if there were eight million stories in the naked city back in the 50s, just think how many more there are in an entire world, and one with thousands of years of recorded history.

None of these new shows will be 'spinning off' from GOT in the traditional sense. We are not talking Joey or AfterMASH or even Frazier or Lou Grant, where characters from one show continue on to another. So all of you who were hoping for the further adventures of Hot Pie are doomed to disappointment. Every one of the concepts under discussion is a prequel, rather than a sequel. Some may not even be set on Westeros. Rather than 'spinoff' or 'prequel,' however, I prefer the term 'successor show.' That's what I've been calling them.

It was stated in some of the reports that I am working with two of the four writers. That's not quite right. I've actually been working with all four of the writers. Every one of the four has visited me here in Santa Fe, some of them more than once, and we've spent days together discussing their ideas, the history of Westeros and the world beyond, and sundry details found only in The World of Ice & Fire and The Lands of Ice & Fire... when we weren't drinking margaritas and eating chile rellenos and visiting Meow Wolf. They are all amazing talents, and I am excited to be working with them. In between visits, I've been in touch with them by phone, text, and email, and I expect there will be a lot more back-and-forth as we move forward.

And there's more. We had four scripts in development when I arrived in LA last week, but by the time I left we had five. We have added a fifth writer to the original four. No, I will not reveal the name here. HBO announced the names of the first four, and will no doubt announce the fifth as well, once his deal has closed. He's a really terrific addition, however, a great guy and a fine writer, and aside from me and maybe Elio and Linda, I don't know anyone who knows and loves Westeros as well as he does.

We're not doing Dunk & Egg. Eventually, sure, I'd love that, and so would many of you. But I've only written and published three novellas to date, and there are at least seven or eight or ten more I want to write. We all know how slow I am, and how fast a television show can move. I don't want to repeat what happened with GAME OF THRONES itself, where the show gets ahead of the books. When the day comes that I've finished telling all my tales of Dunk & Egg, then we'll do a tv show about them... but that day is still a long ways off.

We're not doing Robert's Rebellion either. I know thousands of you want that, I know there's a petition... but by the time I finish writing A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, you will know every important thing that happened in Robert's Rebellion. There would be no surprises or revelations left in such a show, just the acting out of conflicts whose resolutions you already know. That's not a story I want to tell just now; it would feel too much like a twice-told tale.

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@Anagram It appears GRRM shares our opinion on why Robert's Rebellion wouldn't be such a hot idea, too. :P
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Jeff Zero posted...

@Anagram It appears GRRM shares our opinion on why Robert's Rebellion wouldn't be such a hot idea, too. :P

Count me into that group too.

That said, that shoots down two of the three most common speculations I've seen for these. Aegon's invasion is still a possibility though!
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I'd hoped at least one of the in-dev scripts involved a sequel. I'm not thrilled they're all prequel gigs. But since they are...

+The Last Years of Valyria
+The Long Night
+Aegon's Conquest
+Blackfyre Rebellion
+The Dance of Dragons
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This interview actually makes me much more excited for these projects.
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Jeff Zero posted...

but by the time I finish writing A SONG OF ICE & FIRE

Ha ha hahahaha.....aahaahahahahahahahaha *dies of laughter*
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Hey now, I'm not writing these books. If I were, they'd be over by now thanks to the glory of Estelle.
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fuck you guys he said not tell just now


Also yea then I'm def doubling down on Doom of Valyria gimme
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Expanding on my thoughts here a bit. BOLD is cruise control for THIS IS WHAT I WANT.

+The Long Night
(Multi-season show heading into a massive near-extinction level war with the White Walkers, and far sooner than Thrones.)

+The Doom of Valyria
(Multi-season show exploring Valyrian politics, the Freehold at-large, the golden age of the world, and the eventual, inevitable, mysterious Doom.)

+Aegon's Conquest
(Few-season show primarily from Aegon's vantage point. Self-explanatory.)

+The Blackfyre Rebellion
(Limited series.)

+The Dance with Dragons
(Limited series.)
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alright glad you're on board with me then
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Awesome. Yi Ti, Shadowlands, Gray Waste, Sothryos, Free Cities, West of Westeros. Some should remain mysterious, but a lot of these could make good TV, especially the Black Stone mystery. I guess I'm still holding out hope for Asshai in GoT itself.
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J2K, between your ASOIAF knowledge and the "Krelian" in your name, why aren't we friends?
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As a major, major book reader, this is all very, very exciting to hear. I love the universe, it's my favorite of all fiction, so to hear there are FIVE scripts is amazing. Even if we only get one, I'm excited.

Jeff, I like your list a lot. I think they would all work, though Aegon's Conquest feels a little too close to home with the current show.

Doom of Valyria would be fantastic. George loves the Targaryens, loves all that lore, and I think it'd be the best overall story available. I would have to imagine that's a strong candidate.

The Long Night would also be a good idea. So much mystery to it--would be very fascinating to see firsthand accounts of just what went down.


Personally, however, I really want to see The Rhoynish Wars, particularly the Second Spice War, as well as Nymeria's War and the unification of Dorne. I think Nymeria would be a strong lead character, and The World of Ice & Fire really sells that entire narrative so well.

That said, I'm also iffy only because I dislike Dorne on the current show. But then they could set the series all along the Rhoynar, really get a good chance to explore Essos, and ultimately end it in Westeros, providing a much better context for Dorne as one of the Seven Kingdoms.
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Hot damn. The saga of Nymeria would be really great. I could see HBO being skittish about it though given all the articles concerning GoT's Dorne being such a weak spot. The pop cultural mainstream response to such a show getting the greenlight might be one of total confusion and unwarranted apathy, which is unfortunate because they could really roll with that and make something special. Which is why I like your suggestion quite a bit. I think this just hopped up to my #3 spot, possibly #2. (The Long Night was/is #2 after Valyria.)

I agree with you about Aegon's Conquest, too.
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