George R.R. Martin Has An Idea For A Game Of Thrones Spinoff
And a new promo lands for Season 6!
Following on from last week's news that Game of Thrones might have only 13 episodes left after Season 6 ends, talk has unsurprisingly turned to just how HBO might be able to continue the series.
Given its huge success it's understandable that they'd be looking for ways to explore more of that world, and now George R.R. Martin has weighed in with a suggestion. Speaking to EW, he said: "The most natural follow-up would be an adaptation of my Dunk & Egg stories."
The short stories are set around 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and follow the adventures of hedge knight Dunk, who would later become known as Ser Duncan the Tall, and his squire Egg, who becomes King Aegon V Targaryen. It would offer a new story in a familiar world, and present the opportunity to do something different, as Martin notes:
"Each of the novellas could easily be done as a two-hour stand-alone movie for television; that would probably be the ideal way to do them, rather than as an ongoing weekly series. The Hedge Knight and its sequels are lighter than A Song of Ice and Fire, more in the realm of action/adventure.
Of course, there's almost no end to the possibilities of potential spinoffs. The idea of one centred around Robert's Rebellion is compelling, while there's also scope to go further back to the Targaryen Civil War (the Dance of the Dragons), the days of the Long Night and the First Men, or a totally different part of this world, with Martin adding:
"Every episode of The Naked City one of the television shows I watched as a kid ended with a voice-over: There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them. There are eight million stories in Westeros as well and even more in Essos and the lands beyond. A whole world full of stories, waiting to be told if indeed HBO is interested.
Whether HBO are interested or not remains to be seen, but it'd be a big surprise if they weren't already looking at ways to continue Game of Thrones beyond the main series.
Meanwhile, putting talk of spinoffs aside, there is actually a Season 6 to get to in the first place. We're now less than a week away, and a new promo has landed to tell us that the wait is over. Hurrah! There's not a lot new here, but we do get a new look at Tyrion and Varys in Meereen, the introduction of Ellaria Sand to Season 6, and another ominous shot of the White Walkers.
Winter gets here April 24 in the US, and a day later in the UK.