Now that it has been confirmed thatGame of Throneswill come to an end with Season 8, rumors have surfaced that the network is eyeing aprequel series, although nothing has been set yet. Series creators/showrunnersDavid BenioffandD.B. Weisswouldn’t comment on the rumors during a podcast appearance two months ago, but now we have word fromGeorge R.R. Martin, who basically shot down these rumors. Here’s what he had to say at the Emmy Awards media center after the show won Best Drama Series for the second year in a row.
“Well I do have thousands of pages offake historythat have led up toGame of Thrones. At the moment, we still have a show to finish and I still have two books to finish. So for now, that’s all speculation.”
The prequel series rumors actually started withGeorge R.R. Martinhimself three years ago. The author revealed in an interview that he and the network were “playing with the idea” of adapting his three prequel novellas, which follow the characters Dunk and Egg. The novellas are set 100 years before the events of theGame of Thronesnovels and the TV series, but there haven’t been any official updates about this series moving forward since then. It’s certainly possible that, onceGame of Thronesdoes come to an end, discussions about a prequel or spin-off shows will commence, but the author wouldn’t elaborate further in his interview with TV Guide.
George R.R. Martinis still working on his long-awaited sixth book,The Winds of Winter, which doesn’t have a publication date set at this time. The final novel in hisA Song of Fire and Icenovel series will be entitledA Dream of Spring, but it will likely be several years before that book is published. It took the author six years to write his last novel,A Dance With Dragons, which was published in 2011.
If there is a new prequel or another spin off series, it will have to be made withoutGame of Thronesco-creators and showrunnersDavid BenioffandD.B. Weiss. After the Emmy’s last night,David Benioffmade it clear that they would not be involved in any future shows set within theGame of Thronesworld. Here’s what he had to say below.
“You might want to ask George about that. It’s a great world that George created. It’s a very rich world. I’m sure there will be other series set in Westeros. But for us, this is it.”
Casey Bloys, HBO’s head of programming, recently teased that they have talked about a spin-off but nothing is set in stone, teasing it would have to “make sense creatively.” Production recently got under way onGame of Thrones Season 7, which is scheduled to debut later than usual. ShowrunnersDavid BenioffandD.B. Weissconfirmed that production started later than usual this season, because the show is in need of cooler climates since winter has finally arrived in Westeros.Game of ThronesSeason 7 is slated to debut in the summer of 2017, but an official premiere date has not been announced yet.
