HBO Says ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel Scripts are an ‘Embarrassment of Riches’

HBO is in the process of developing five different Game of Thrones spinoffs and the network feels it has been dealt an “embarrassment of riches” with the new shows.

Richard Plepler, the chairman and CEO of HBO, spoke out about the offshoot series while appearing at the entertainment trade show Mipcom in Cannes. He explained that not all of the scripts have been delivered yet for executive consideration, he did sound quite optimistic about what he has seen up to this point.

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“It’s a fantastic group of writers and talent, most of whom have lived inside the Thrones eco-system so are very, very familiar with its intricacies,” he said, according to Variety. “I think we will find with this embarrassment of [writing] riches an exciting property for us to moves forward with. We are looking some things, I have read a couple of early bibles and I’m excited about what I’ve seen.”

The five prequel shows in development are based on George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones universe and will be spinoffs of the flagship series, which has been HBO’s biggest hit of all time. While there are several in development, the network has emphasized that it is possible that none of them are guaranteed to make it to the pilot stage. It’s also possible that only one of them will make it to air.

One of the prequel shows is being written by Bryan Cogman, who serves as a co-executive producer on Game of Thrones.

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As for the GOT showrunners, David Benioff and Dan Weiss, the two have already stated they won’t be involved in the prequels. Given this fact, Cogman is likely the next-best option to spearhead a spinoff show. He was brought on in season 1 as an assistant to Benioff and Weiss and went on to write several episodes of the series in its 7-season stretch thus far.