George RR Martin signs new five-year deal with HBO

As part of the long-term deal, Martin will be developing ambitious new projects for both HBO and its streaming service HBO Max

American author and television producer George RR Martin has signed a five-year deal “worth mid-eight figures” with HBO to develop more projects for the network after the wild success of the fantasy show Game of Thrones.

HBO said it would be creating three more spin-offs of Game of Thrones (GoT), The Hollywood Reporter reported.

There are multiple other series in development, including the House of Dragon, a prequel set 300 years before the occasions in Game of Thrones and centred around House Targaryen back when ancestors of Daenerys, a pivotal character of GoT, ruled Westeros.

In addition to this, 10,000 Ships will follow Princess Nymeria and the Kingdom of Dorne set roughly 1,000 years before the events in Game of Thrones, and 9 Voyages that highlights House Velaryon.

There are additional reports of an anonymous undertaking including the ghettos of Flea Bottom on King’s Landing where Davos Seaworth and Gendry Baratheon, GoT characters, were born.

The first project to be released will be House of Dragon, built into a 10-episode series, scheduled to air in 2022. It will star English actors Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, and Emma D’Arcy.

Martin first struck a deal with HBO in 2007 to license his A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Broadcasting between the years 2011 and 2019, Game of Thrones stayed with people all around the world, making it HBO’s greatest achievement and its most-viewed show which also won 59 Emmy awards. 

Read more:

• Line of Duty fan spots Kate Fleming revelation in background of episode 2 
• Jessica Simpson says she doesn’t want a public apology from John Mayer
• Viewers react to controversial new Netflix documentary, Seaspiracy
• Demi Lovato says her rape during Disney years was ‘completely swept under the rug’

However, looking at this new deal, A Song of Ice and Fire may no longer be number one on the author’s priority list. It seems that the world is no closer to reading The Winds of Winter — the sixth book that has been expected since the last instalment was distributed in 2011.