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HBO Exploring Four Spin-off Stories


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As usual, James Hibberd at EW gets the big scoop. We’ve talked before about HBO’s executives confirming that they’re interested in exploring the A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones universe after the series is done, but this is the very first concrete news regarding it. Per Hibberd,

Most of the assigned writers have experience writing major theatrical films, and Martin is personally involved in two of the projects. The show ideas are from Max Borenstein (Kong: Skull Island, Fox’s Minority Report); Jane Goldman (Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: First Class) along with Martin; Brian Helgeland (A Knight’s Tale, L.A. Confidential); and Carly Wray (Mad Men) with Martin.

Also, Hibberd confirms Benioff and Weiss will be executive producers on any eventual show(s). It’s not exactly a surprise, however, given that they brought the property to HBO in the first place, so they would retain a stake. It’s pretty clear they will not be showrunners, however.

Some further thoughts below.

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While I think 3 possibilities are fairly obvious - Robert's Rebellion, Dunk and Egg, and The Princess and the Queen - I think a show dealing with  Aegon IV's reign and death would really work in terms of scope for multiple seasons.

I would absolutely love to see more of the North, maybe an origin story of the Night's Watch.

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Not sure how to feel about this. I was hoping once the show was over it would go back to people mainly discussing the books but it looks like HBO want to milk Ice & Fire for everything it's worth. I suppose as long as GRRM is happy about it but I'm not a fan of D&D being exec producers on any new shows, no need to guess they want renumeration for the years they've put in beyond their current salary.

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3 hours ago, PsammeadSand said:

Not sure how to feel about this. I was hoping once the show was over it would go back to people mainly discussing the books but it looks like HBO want to milk Ice & Fire for everything it's worth. I suppose as long as GRRM is happy about it but I'm not a fan of D&D being exec producers on any new shows, no need to guess they want renumeration for the years they've put in beyond their current salary.

Why shouldn't D&D cash in on a GOT spinoff? The only reason there would even be a spinoff in the first place is the blockbuster success of GOT.

Despite the exec producer credits, I think D&D will be happy to hand off all the heavy lifting to whichever new showrunners are chosen for the spinoff. They've been talking for years about the toll acting as showrunners for GOT has taken on them. 

Also, GRRM has always had a co-executive producer credit on GOT but has done virtually no work for the show for the past few seasons. Why not assume the same will be true of D&D for the spinoff?

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My sense on what these people might be doing:

Borenstein is a key creative on the "Universal Monsters" shared universe of films and is booked to continue working on that project for years to come. I suspect his GoT spin-off might be a film or series of films (a space HBO has dabbled in but never gone all-out on). Based on his understanding of effects and monster movies, he might be a shoe-in to do the Dance of Dragons as a trilogy. That makes sense because the story is good but the effects budget would be too overwhelming for TV.

Helgeland wrote A Knight's Tale (as well as LA Confidential), which even at the time felt like a Hedge Knight tribute, so it's possible he might be drawn back into those familiar waters (presumably with less musical numbers though).

Less sure about the other two. Goldman has worked a lot with superhero properties, but also fairy tales and horror. Cray has the most varied writing career in terms of recent work and is also the most experienced in television of the four, as well as being clearly someone HBO is a big fan of (having developed her career previously on both The Leftovers and Westworld), so I think she might have the best crack at doing a large-scale series.

The Rebellion I think is still unlikely, as Martin has been fairly consistent about not wanting to do it (and, until he sells HBO those rights, they need his agreement to do it). I think he would be open to a fresh or different take on it though, perhaps a story that took place during the Rebellion but with new characters with the big, familiar events unfolding in the background and the story occasionally intersects with the larger events.

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Not sure how to feel about this, but I agree, things are looking up if they get better showrunners. A Dunk and Egg mini-series would be wonderful if they could nix the show's current issues. And since the first Dance of Dragons stories were written as historical studies, it would be nice to see them fleshed out.

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The ongoing problem with anything to do with Dunc and Egg is that very quickly he series would run out of material and you would quickly have the same problem as we currently have with Got, that the series has moved far beyond he books.  Of course we don't know exactly what HBO means by these projects.  Are they looking for 70 plus multi-season commitments or shorter runs?

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What I'd like to see:

1.) Aegon's conquest

- Plenty of rich material there to be brought to the television. Would love to see the struggle with Black Harren and House Martell. Also, the field of fire would be fantastic.

2.) Dance of Dragons

- Seems pretty clear that this Targaryen civil war would be a scintillating experience to watch on the screen.

3.) Blackfyre Rebellion

- Another intriguing tale that includes plenty of family names that viewers/readers will enjoy. The plotting of Daemon being king would be the meat of the story with the battle at redgrass field being the epic conclusion; obviously plenty of supplemental Blackfyre rebellions you could touch on as well, but they could tie in with a Dunk and Egg tale.

4.) Dunk & Egg

- As I just mentioned, plenty of Dunk & Egg material to bring to light. My preference would be the first tale, The Hedge Knight, with my second choice being The Mystery Knight.

5.) Robert's Rebellion

- This seems like an obvious choice due to its proximity with the beginning of the GoT series. Clearly there's a ton of lore and action to go along with that. Would love to see this brought to the HBO screen.

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It may not be all that bad. We might get some new "pseudos-candon" material. I mean there's so much history already written (like the World Book). As far as those histories being more fleshed out, this might be the best we will ever get.  

On 5/5/2017 at 5:32 AM, Cymorococh said:

 I think a show dealing with  Aegon IV's reign and death would really work in terms of scope for multiple seasons.

This is a great example. It would be awesome to have an opportunity to get the know these characters, how they think, and who they really are.  I just wish it was from GRRM's mind only. (It won't be; that's the big negative for me)

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19 hours ago, Ahl of the House Cutler said:

I wouldn't mind seeing a series set in the Dawn Age or Age of Heroes.  I'm sure there's years of material between characters like Bran the Builder, Lann the Clever, Durran Godsgrief, etc....

And Children of the Forest.  I want more Children of the Forest.

Something centered around the Valyrian Freehold for me. Maybe a miniseries, with episodes ranging in time from its rise to its Doom.

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On 05/05/2017 at 9:21 PM, Newstar said:

Why shouldn't D&D cash in on a GOT spinoff? The only reason there would even be a spinoff in the first place is the blockbuster success of GOT.

Despite the exec producer credits, I think D&D will be happy to hand off all the heavy lifting to whichever new showrunners are chosen for the spinoff. They've been talking for years about the toll acting as showrunners for GOT has taken on them. 

Also, GRRM has always had a co-executive producer credit on GOT but has done virtually no work for the show for the past few seasons. Why not assume the same will be true of D&D for the spinoff?

They don't have respect for the source material even though they go on and on about how they do. Also, after having said they would have nothing to do with any new Ice & Fire shows, it shows what they truly value. There's nothing wrong with people wanting to make as much money as possible if that's what they want, but ultimately I think any new shows need new eyes for a new vision. 

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On 5/5/2017 at 3:32 AM, Cymorococh said:

While I think 3 possibilities are fairly obvious - Robert's Rebellion, Dunk and Egg, and The Princess and the Queen - I think a show dealing with  Aegon IV's reign and death would really work in terms of scope for multiple seasons.

I would absolutely love to see more of the North, maybe an origin story of the Night's Watch.

I think Dunk and Egg is most likely, with, as you say, Robert's Rebellion (people love Winterfell/Starks) and The Princess and the Queen being other possibilities.

A Night's Watch show could work; I'd love to see more Night's King. Or maybe a show set in Essos.

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