George RR Martin has provided a Christmas update on his blog, saying he’s been busy with Winds of Winter (yes, really), as well as House of the Dragon season 2, and promoting his new illustrated book Rise of the Dragon.
In a blog post six months ago, Martin confirmed that there were four live-action Game of Thrones successor shows in development at HBO. They are Ten Thousand Ships, Sea Snake, The Hedge Knight, and Snow. The last one is being developed by Kit Harington himself.
Martin said; “it was Kit Harington who brought the idea to us. I cannot tell you the names of the writers/showrunners, since that has not been cleared for release yet… but Kit brought them in too, his own team, and they are terrific.” Martin added; “Kit’s team have visited me here in Santa Fe and worked with me and my own team of brilliant, talented writer/consultants to hammer out the show.”
Martin did add a warning; “Please note: nothing has been greenlit yet, and there is no guarantee when or if it will be… on any of these shows. The likelihood of all four series getting on the air… well, I’d love it, but that’s not the way it works, usually.”
In Martin’s update from December 28, 2022, he says that he’s been working on; “several of the other [Game of Thrones] successor shows that we’re developing with HBO.” But adds; “Some of those are moving faster than others, as is always the case with development. None have been greenlit yet, though we are hoping… maybe soon. A couple have been shelved, but I would not agree that they are dead. You can take something off the shelf as easily as you can put it on the shelf. All the changes at HBO Max have impacted us, certainly.” Given the massive success of House of the Dragon, it’s surprising that any Game of Thrones spin-off could be in jeopardy.
There has been a big period of upheaval at HBO Max, with movies and TV shows being cancelled left, right and centre. The most prominent of these was of course Batgirl, but there’s also been TV shows such as Westworld, Made for Love, Los Espookys, The Nevers, Love Life, and Raised by Wolves. Like Batgirl, the second season of Minx had almost completed filming when the plug was pulled – they will be hoping that another streamer such as Hulu picks them up.
While we wait to find out the fate of Snow and the other Game of Thrones spin-offs, check out our guide to the House of the Dragon cast.