George RR Martin signs new five-year deal with HBO

As part of the long-term deal, Martin will be developing ambitious new projects for both HBO and its streaming service HBO Max

Peony Hirwani
Tuesday 30 March 2021 08:29 BST
Comments
George RR Martin introduces his novel Fire & Blood
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

American author and television producer George RR Martin has signed a five-year deal “worth mid-eight figures” with HBO to develop more projects for the network after the wild success of the fantasy show Game of Thrones.

HBO said it would be creating three more spin-offs of Game of Thrones (GoT), The Hollywood Reporter reported.

There are multiple other series in development, including the House of Dragon, a prequel set 300 years before the occasions in Game of Thrones and centred around House Targaryen back when ancestors of Daenerys, a pivotal character of GoT, ruled Westeros.

In addition to this, 10,000 Ships will follow Princess Nymeria and the Kingdom of Dorne set roughly 1,000 years before the events in Game of Thrones, and 9 Voyages that highlights House Velaryon.

There are additional reports of an anonymous undertaking including the ghettos of Flea Bottom on King’s Landing where Davos Seaworth and Gendry Baratheon, GoT characters, were born.

The first project to be released will be House of Dragon, built into a 10-episode series, scheduled to air in 2022. It will star English actors Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, and Emma D’Arcy.

Martin first struck a deal with HBO in 2007 to license his A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Broadcasting between the years 2011 and 2019, Game of Thrones stayed with people all around the world, making it HBO’s greatest achievement and its most-viewed show which also won 59 Emmy awards. 

Read more:

However, looking at this new deal, A Song of Ice and Fire may no longer be number one on the author’s priority list. It seems that the world is no closer to reading The Winds of Winter — the sixth book that has been expected since the last instalment was distributed in 2011. 

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in