George R.R. Martin has recently delivered an update on his Game Of Thrones franchise that will excite fans of his TV universe but enrage those still waiting for the author to complete his novel series the shows are based on. While appearing at the Iceland Noir festival last month, Martin spoke to Los Siete Reinos, revealing that there are a lot of new Game of Thrones shows now in development.
When Game of Thrones came to its divisive conclusion, a number of spinoff shows were immediately put into development. However, over time, the numbers dwindled until only House of the Dragon remained. With that series now heading into its third season, and a second spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, debuting next year, it looks like HBO is ready to now dive headfirst back into the history – and future – of Westeros and the surrounding lands. As Martin revealed:
“Aside from The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and House of the Dragon, there are other Game of Thrones spinoff projects in development. Most are prequels. There are several in development, five or six series; and I’m not developing them alone, I’m working with other people. Yes, there are some sequels.”
Among the spinoffs previously discussed are Aegon’s Quest, an animated series about Queen Nymeria, Yi Ti’s empire, and Corlys Velaryon. Then there was the Jon Snow sequel series, a canceled Braavos show, and even a possible feature-length film in the mix. Could some of these projects now be back in contention, or is this new wave a brand-new set of stories? One thing that is for certain, The Winds of Winter is not getting any closer as a result of this update.
When Will ‘The Winds of Winter’ be Released?
If there was one question in the world that readers of Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire would die to know the answer to, it would be when the author is finally going to get around to finishing the penultimate novel in the saga. While the story that began with Game of Thrones was given an ending on TV – supposedly from Martin’s notes of where he saw the story going – until The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring are released, fans will not rest.
Martin’s latest comments suggest that working on The Winds of Winter is not the highest priority on his agenda. As he previously explained:
“I know there’s all this controversy surrounding The Winds of Winter and its delay, but I’ve always had issues with deadlines. I’m not comfortable breaking contracts, delivering things late, or anything like that. Yes, I love The Winds of Winter . I’m interested in it, I’m working on it, but honestly, I also love these other things (like the series The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms).”
Martin’s lack of commitment to completing his novels – the idea he will ever even start working on A Dream of Spring is becoming further out of reach with each passing year – has annoyed many fans, to a point that one attendee at a recent event demanded the author pass his novels off to another author to write instead. This latest news may be pleasing to some of his fans, but it is just another reason to vent on social media for everyone else.