George R.R. Martin: Some ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoffs “Shelved” at HBO

The ongoing restructuring at Warner Bros. Discovery may be affecting one of its most valuable franchises.

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin says a couple of potential spinoffs of the megahit have been “shelved,” though others remain in active development. Writing on his blog, Martin attributed the delays to “all the changes at HBO Max.”

Martin wrote that he’s working on “several of the other [Game of Thrones] successor shows that we’re developing with HBO. (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).”

Martin didn’t identify which possible GoT spinoffs were affected, and HBO declined comment. Of the several projects in development, the only ones specifically targeted for HBO Max — as opposed to the HBO cable channel where Game of Thrones and prequel House of the Dragon originate — are a trio of animated series, one of which would focus on the Golden Empire of Yi Ti, located on the continent of Essos in Martin’s sprawling fantasy world.

Other Thrones offshoots in various stages of development include a sequel to the original centered on Jon Snow, with Kit Harington attached to reprise his role; 10,000 Ships (aka Nymeria) with showrunner Amanda Segel; 9 Voyages (aka The Sea Snake) with showrunner Bruno Heller; and Dunk and Egg with showrunner Steve Conrad.

House of the Dragon, meanwhile, scored a quick renewal from HBO after it premiered in August. Production on season two is expected to begin sometime in 2023.

Martin also noted in his blog post that he’s still developing a Wild Cards series at Peacock and remains at work on The Winds of Winter, the sixth novel in his A Song of Ice and Fire series that formed the basis for Game of Thrones.