George R.R. Martin wants a Game of Thrones spin-off. This is good news, mainly because HBO don’t seem all that keen on the idea. With GoT set to end in the next few years (the final two seasons are reportedly shorter too, for cryin’ out loud), fans are pining for Martin’s legacy to be maintained on the small screen with further adaptations of his bestselling A Song of Ice and Fire books.
Last week, HBO programming president Michael Lombardo said there was no immediate plans for Game of Thrones spin-offs, but Martin has countered that in saying they have no excuse because there’s an abundance of material at their disposal.
“There is certainly no lack of material,” Martin told Entertainment Weekly (via Squareeyed).
“Every episode of The Naked City – one of the television shows I watched as a kid – ended with a voice-over: ‘There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them.’ There are eight million stories in Westeros as well … and even more in Essos and the lands beyond. A whole world full of stories, waiting to be told… if indeed HBO is interested.”
However, while many fans hold on to the hope that we could see a miniseries focusing on Robert’s Rebellion, Martin believes the next step forward is to adapt his Dunk & Egg stories (admittedly, Dunk & Egg does not sounds nearly as epic as The Winds of Winter).
“The most natural follow-up would be an adaptation of my Dunk & Egg stories,” he said.
The Dunk & Egg novellas are set in the same world as A Song of Ice and Fire, but are set 90 years before the time of Game of Thrones. The stories follow Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg. Duncan goes on to become a member of the Kingsguard, while Egg fares rather better; he ends up becoming known as King Aegon V Targaryen of Westeros. Martin has written a trio of those novellas and has several more planned so you can see where he’s coming from when he says HBO aren’t short on material.
Would you like to see an adaptation of the Dunk & Egg stories or do you think something directly spun from Game of Thrones would be more exciting? Chime in with your comments! Meanwhile, the sixth season of Thrones returns in under a week.
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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