Game of Thrones is an adaptation of the epic dark fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire from writer George R.R. Martin and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. The series airs exclusively on HBO and stars Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Kit Harrington and Emilia Clarke. Season 7 strikes July 16, 2017 for seven episodes.
Set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos Game of Thrones weaves several plot lines with a broad ensemble cast. The first narrative arc follows a civil war among several noble houses for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms; the second covers the attempts of the exiled last scion of the realm’s deposed ruling dynasty to reclaim the throne; the third chronicles the rising threat of the impending winter and the legendary creatures and fierce peoples of the North.
Thanks to THR, we now know that the Song of Ice and Fire franchise will not cease after the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones concludes in 2018. There are actually FOUR, count em – FREAKIN 4 Spin-Offs in development and although we don’t know what the stories will be or which characters will be in them – we can reveal the creative teams. The main main himself George R.R. Martin, whom of course wrote the novels, is actually involved in half of these creative teams. Since you know what he’s done – the credits in the summary don’t include his work but the other half of the duo instead.
For fun I’ve also ranked the most promising creative person/team which I think has the best background for making a worthy spin-off or follow-up to HBO’s Game of Thrones.
#1. Carly Wray and George R. R. Martin: Credits include Mad Men, The Bastard Executioner, Constantine and The Leftovers.
#2. Jane Goldman and George R. R. Martin: Credits include writing on Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
#3. Brian Helgeland: Credits include writing L.A. Confidential, A Knight’s Tale (also directed), Payback, 42, Legend, Robin Hood, The Taking of Pelham 123, Man on Fire, Blood Work and Mystic River.
#4. Max Borenstein: Credits include Minority Report TV series showrunner and screenplays for Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of The Monsters.
One would likely assume that at least one of these teams is working on a prequel series that includes Martin’s OTHER most famous Song of Ice and Fire tale that takes place long before the events of the series – titled The Hedge Knight or The Tales of Dunk and Egg. There are currently three short stories (and comics out there that you should also own) that tell this story of a knight who befriends a squire who turns out to be much more than he initially thinks… That story in itself is lighter in tone than the rest of Martin’s franchise, but it’s also a really strong read and would make for a wonderful series. As for the rest? Well – Martin has created an intensely deep history so we could see a hundred different prequels, or even some sort of sequel/sidequel after the main series wraps up.