A direct update from the man that knows everything in Westeros.
With a litany of books to write and production duties to perform on various TV shows, it’s understandable if George R.R. Martin might be feeling a little tired when JOE meets him at Dublin’s IFI.
The opposite is true because the enthusiasm that the author has for his work is infectious. While many might now him more fondly as the ‘Father of Dragons,’ Martin’s work has crossed mediums and genres for decades..
The A Song of Ice and Fire saga is undoubtedly his calling card but there’s also books and novellas like Fevre Dream, Sandkings, Dying of the Light, The Ice Dragon, and his Thousand World series.
The HBO drama may have ended but Martin still has plenty of stories to tell in Westeros – he’s working on The Winds of Winter and talked about a sequel to Fire and Blood in our interview – but the author has also collaborated with Jane Goldman on her Game of Thrones prequel.
In a previous interview, Martin said that Goldman’s show will feature some elements that Game of Thrones viewers are familiar with – House Stark, Direwolves, The Others will be present – but with production now wrapped on the pilot episode, we were curious about what else is in store.
“I’ve a lot of my stuff in various stages of development. Sandkings, The Ice Dragon, Wild Cards, and of course we’re developing a number of Game of Thrones prequels that are drawn in large part from Fire and Blood, the book of Targaryen history that I had out in November,” he said.
The events in Fire and Blood are set centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones and revolve around House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria as they take up residence on Dragonstone.
The novel begins with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne and the person that subjugated the Seven Kingdoms.
The novel then recounts the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.
Over the course of the novel, the Dance of the Dragons, the Doom of Valyria, and the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs are all discussed.
With regards to Jane Goldman’s pilot – currently given the working title of Bloodmoon – the pilot episode has wrapped filming and Martin expects to see it soon.
“Jane Goldman’s show has wrapped up in Belfast. I just saw her in London, she’s deep in the throes of post-production. I hope to see a cut of it (the pilot) probably by early September,” he said.
In terms of the plot, very little is known apart from the official synopsis that HBO has provided which states: “Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series chronicles the world’s descent from the Golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. And only one thing is for sure: from the horrifying secrets of Westeros’s history to the true origin of the white walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend… it’s not the story we think we know.”
Martin was kind enough to share a few more small details about the project with JOE.
“Jane’s show takes place like 5,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In some way, Jane’s show is based on eight random sentences that are scattered through the books! She has really brought a lot to the table. We met in Santa Fe on a couple of occasions and in LA, we’ve had long discussions about the show before she went off to make it, but she’s only had a few little signposts for this show along he way.
“She’s really bringing a lot to the table. It’s before the coming of the Andals, I guess. I really can’t talk anymore about this because HBO will have kittens! They’re very secretive. They don’t want anything given away that might be a spoiler.”
We’re intrigued.
You can read our whole interview with George R.R. Martin here.
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