Put down the pitchforks, we're not saying that more Game Of Thrones is a bad thing, just that the whole idea of prequels has actually never really worked out.
While the next season of Game Of Thrones is set to air on 16 July this year, the end is pretty much already in sight, what with it being the second last season of the series before the whole Westeros saga is pretty much done and dusted.
However, when you've got a mega money maker like Game Of Thrones on your hands, you're not going to let it go without a fight, and HBO have already signalled that there will be FIVE potential spin-offs in the works, with four of the writers for each of the pilot episodes already announced.
According to GoT author George R. R. Martin via his LiveBlog, those confirmed to be working each of the new projects already are
Max Borenstein (Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island)
Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service)
Brian Helgeland (Man On Fire, L.A. Confidential)
Carly Wray (The Leftovers, Mad Men)
The fifth is still unannounced, but Martin referred to them as "a great guy and a fine writer, and aside from me and maybe [two other people], I don't know anyone who knows and loves Westeros as well as he does."
While Martin did say that not all five shows may make it to actually getting made, they will all be considered once the scripts are delivered to HBO, and has already shot down some of the theories as to what some of the shows will be about, including any hopes that they they may fill in the blanks regarding Robert's Rebellion:
"By the time I finish writing A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, you will know every important thing that happened in Robert's Rebellion. There would be no surprises or revelations left in such a show, just the acting out of conflicts whose resolutions you already know. That's not a story I want to tell just now; it would feel too much like a twice-told tale."
But here's the thing... we've said it before and we'll see it again... Prequels almost NEVER work!
Everything from Star Wars prequels to The Hobbit Trilogy, right up to the very recent Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, really the best we can hope for is that they aren't terrible.
When we're presented with something awesome, we want to see more of that awesome, we don't want to see the boring bit before they got awesome.
We think Patton Oswalt put it best:
Clip via Wes964
There are examples that disprove the rules - X-Men First Class and Days Of Future Past, and Fast & Furious 5 and 6 come to mind - and there is a chance that Martin will be able to give us something special in at least one of the five options.
But if all we're going to see is Queen Cersei being a spoilt 4-year-old, throwing weird glances at her twin brother Jaime, then they may need to re-think this whole thing.
