New update on Game Of Thrones

George R.R. Martin has weighed in to clarify HBO’s preliminary plans for a Game of Thrones prequel series, all the while confirming that a fifth pilot script is now officially in the mix.

Taking to his personal blog, Martin stressed that any serialized extension of A Song of Ice and Fire will exist in a “secondary universe,” and that each pitch currently under consideration has been aligned as prequels to the core Westeros saga. As the founding father of Game of Thrones, it’s not all that surprising to hear that George R.R. Martin is working closely with the screenwriters on HBO’s shortlist namely Max Borenstein, Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland and Carly Wray though the author stopped short of identifying the scribe behind this mysterious fifth script. It is a male writer though, judging by Martin’s blog.

“We had four scripts in development when I arrived in LA last week, but by the time I left we had five. We have added a fifth writer to the original four. No, I will not reveal the name here. HBO announced the names of the first four, and will no doubt announce the fifth as well, once his deal has closed. He’s a really terrific addition, however, a great guy and a fine writer, and aside from me and maybe Elio and Linda, I don’t know anyone who knows and loves Westeros as well as he does. For what it’s worth, I don’t especially like the term “spinoff,” and I don’t think it really applies to these new projects. What we’re talking about are new stories set in the “secondary universe” (to borrow Tolkien’s term) of Westeros and the world beyond, the world I created for A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE… None of these new shows will be ‘spinning off’ from GOT in the traditional sense. We are not talking Joey or AfterMASH or even Frazier or Lou Grant, where characters from one show continue on to another. So all of you who were hoping for the further adventures of Hot Pie are doomed to disappointment. Every one of the concepts under discussion is a prequel, rather than a sequel. Some may not even be set on Westeros. Rather than ‘spinoff’ or ‘prequel,’ however, I prefer the term ‘successor show.’ That’s what I’ve been calling them.”