‘Game of Thrones’ Author Offers Update on New Books, Upcoming Shows

Author George R.R. Martin posted an extensive update on his blog on Wednesday, with new information about the Game of Thrones spinoff TV shows and his upcoming books. Martin reported some major progress on the next book in the series, The Winds of Winter, and revealed that other books will be coming out this year. He also said as much as he could about the new shows coming to HBO.

First and foremost, Martin promised that he is still working A Song of Ice and Fire book 6, The Winds of Winter. He wrote that he did not make as much progress in 2021 as he did in 2020, but it sounds like he is still making headway regardless. He revealed that he is simultaneously writing the next installment of his Targaryen dynasty history book Fire & Blood, and that he is now several hundred pages into that endeavor. He has not decided on a title for that book yet, and mused that it might end up being Blood & Fire.

“I know, I know, for many of you out there, only one of those projects matters,” Martin wrote, alluding to his infamously long-awaited sixth book. “I am sorry for you. They ALL matter to me. Yes, of course I am still working on THE WINDS OF WINTER.”

On the TV side of Westeros, Martin admitted that the “successor shows” to Game of Thrones “have taken a ton of my time and attention this year.” He explained that most of that time went into checking over all the material and making sure it matches the canon of his books and the original series.

Martin confirmed that House of the Dragon has wrapped filming and said that he has seen some rough cuts of the episodes. He has “loved” what he has seen so far, and he is eager to share as much information with fans as possible. This includes the other TV shows, though Martin did not spoil any major secrets.

“Maybe there [are] a few things I can tell you. Things that HBO has previously announced, or hinted at,” he wrote. “We are developing live-action shows for HBO, and animated shows for HBO Max. No, can’t tell you how many… Some of the ideas we are working on are quite different in tone and approach than what has gone before, and that thrills me. The world of Westeros (and Essos, etc) is huge, and there is room in it for many types of stories, about a wide range of characters.”

Martin then ran down the information he is allowed to share about each series, most of which was already reported or announced. One of the biggest revelations was that the prospective series about Corlys Velaryon has changed titles from Nine Voyages to The Sea Snake. He also confirmed that work on the live-action Ten Thousand Ships and Dunk & Egg are underway. He praised the writers working on those – Amanda Segel and Steve Conrad, respectively.

“Over on the animated side… Well, I am not allowed to talk about most of what’s happening, except to say that things are moving very fast, and I love love love some of the concept art I am seeing,” Martin wrote. He did confirm the rumor that one of the animated shows is set in the distant city-state of Yi Ti, and said that its working title is The Golden Empire.

“I would tell you more if I could. I don’t think I can say a word about the other animated shows. Not yet,” Martin wrote. He also shouted out his other TV shows outside of the Thrones franchise, including the long-awaited Wild Cards adaptation.

Finally, Martin mentioned two new books which he believes will be available by the end of this year. The first is “a lavish coffee table book… An illustrated, condensed version of Fire & Blood done with Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson (my partners on The World of Ice & Fire), and my Fevre River art director, Raya Golden. And another book after that, a Who’s Who in Westeros.”

This is all great news for fans of Martin’s work and fans of Game of Thrones, who may soon be keeping up with an entire Westeros TV franchise on the scale of a cinematic universe. However, Martin also warned that there’s no guarantee all or even some of these shows will make it to the air. For now, the only sure things are House of the Dragon coming later this year and The Winds of Winter coming soon.