Game of Thrones Targaryen Prequel, Based on Fire & Blood, in the Works at HBO With New Writer: Report

HBO is said to be close to signing off on a pilot episode.

Photo Credit: Harper Voyager

• This is the second Thrones prequel at an advanced stage
• Colony co-creator Ryan J. Condal is behind the new idea
• Martin had cryptically hinted at https://jiji.ng/ it on his blog back in May

We might be getting a second Game of Thrones prequel. A new report claims that HBO is considering greenlighting an adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s 2018 book Fire & Blood, which is set 300 years prior to the events of the show and tells the history of House Targaryen. (Martin is the author of A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, which served as the basis for Game of Thrones.) That means it would feature dragons, though they would slowly start to disappear as the Targaryens near their end. The new Targaryen Thrones prequel has reportedly been created by Ryan J. Condal (Colony) and Martin himself, with Condal as the writer.

Deadline brings word of the new Game of Thrones prequel development, noting that it’s been in the works at HBO since last autumn. If that’s setting off alarm bells in your head because a new Thrones prequel hasn’t been announced since mid-2017, that’s because this isn’t a new one. Per the report, it’s a “brand new take” on the idea that was being developed by Thrones veteran Bryan Cogman. That idea had been confirmed to be not going forward by Cogman in April, but Condal seems to have convinced HBO with a spin on the same. Now, the network is thinking of giving it a pilot episode order.

The Targaryen Thrones prequel was one of the “two other shows” that were in the scripting phase as of May, when Martin talked about it on his blog. The 70-year-old author had even cryptically hinted at what one of them was about, by referring to Fire & Blood in the same sentence: “What are they about? I cannot say. But maybe some of you should pick up a copy of Fire & Blood and come up with your own theories.” Of course, it wasn’t as obvious then because Martin had brought up Fire & Blood earlier in the same blog post in the context of the book’s sales.

Fire & Blood is in fact the first of two volumes of the history of House Targaryen. (The second one is yet unpublished.) It starts with Aegon I Targaryen’s conquest of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, then charts his reign, the lives of his sons Aenys I and Maegor I, the reign of Aenys’s son Jaehaerys I, and the succession crisis following the death of his sons. That brings us to the famed civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons — mentioned on the show and in A Song of Ice and Fire book with a similar title — before ending with the first few years of the reign of Aegon III. The report claims that civil war will be a big part of the show — naturally so.

• Game of Thrones Prequel Will Have Starks, Direwolves, Mammoths, Says GRRM
• Game of Thrones Sets New Emmy Record With 32 Nominations

In addition to being the co-creator and showrunner on Colony, Condal is known for co-writing the screenplay of the Dwayne Johnson-starrer movies Rampage, and Hercules. All three titles have had mixed reactions from critics and audiences. Condal is also working on remakes of Logan’s Run, and Highlander.

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Akhil Arora covers entertainment for Gadgets 360, interviewing stars such as Christian Bale and Anurag Kashyap, covering series premieres, product and service launches across the globe, and looking at American blockbusters and Indian dramas from a global socio-political and feminist perspective. As a Rotten Tomatoes-certified film critic, Akhil has reviewed over 150 movies and TV shows in over half a decade at Gadgets 360. When he is not completely caught up with new film and TV releases, Akhil . More

George R.R. Martin Announces Fire and Blood, a Game of Thrones ‘Prequel’, Out This November

American author George R.R. Martin Wednesday announced a new book to be released in November — but fans may be disappointed to learn it’s not the highly-anticipated sixth installment of the hit Game of Thrones saga.

Fire and Blood is set several centuries before Game of Thrones in the same fantasy world of Westeros, the author said on his blog. Martin stressed it is not a novel, but rather a historical text setting out the history of Westeros’ Targaryen dynasty.

Since 2012, the author has published several passages from the new book. Publisher Bantam Spectra did not respond to a request for comment about the upcoming release, but the book is already available for presale online.

As for the Game of Thrones book – The Winds of Winter – Martin said: "No, winter is not coming. not in 2018, at least."

Between 1996 and 2011, Martin published five volumes of the Game of Thrones series – letting six years pass between the fourth and fifth.

Since the sixth season of the phenomenally popular television show based on the series, the writers have not directly relied on Martin’s books – and in any case, producer HBO took many liberties with the original story in previous seasons.

The series – whose eighth and final season is expected in 2019 – has already scooped up a record 38 Emmy Awards.

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