George R.R. Martin, the author of the highly popular "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel series, previously confirmed on his LiveJournal blog that there are in fact already five scripts that are in development for possible "Game of Thrones" spin-off shows. Now, a report from Entertainment Weekly has revealed new details about the fifth script, which was written by Martin and "Game of Thrones" co-Executive Producer Bryan Cogman.
Not a sequel
According to Martin's latest post on his blog, the fifth script basically follows the same premise as the other four spinoff ideas in that it will essentially be a prequel instead of a sequel.
There are currently a vast number of historical events within Martin's novels that can be explored and Martin and the show's producers simply want to adopt some parts of it and build a new television series around it.
An exciting story for novel fans
In Martin's official Tumblr web page, the author even teased that the fifth script being developed will be particularly thrilling for fans of the books. He, unfortunately, did not give any new details about the possible storyline that will be explored, but he did mention that the setting will be during an "exciting period in Westerosi history."
A lot of choices
Aside from teasing fans about the fifth new "Game of Thrones" spinoff, Martin also took the time to manage fan expectations on his Tumblr post.
The author explained that there is a very small chance that all five scripts will be translated into actual television shows. In fact, out of the five scripts, there may only be one or two that will actually make it into the pilot stage, with one being chosen to have a full season. The brand new spinoff series will likely air sometime in 2019 or 2020.
Due to the immense success of the series, HBO is pretty much on board with the idea of having one or two spin-off shows. HBO programming president Casey Bloys explained in an interview that having multiple scripts should give them a better chance of finding at least one storyline that would live up to the original series. Bloys even mentioned that it would be "insane" not at least to entertain the idea of a new show based on Martin's vast and colorful universe.
The seventh season of the television adaptation of Martin's novel had just recently concluded with the eighth and final season set to be released in 2018. Principal photography and production for the final season are set to begin next month.
