George R.R. Martin Discusses HBO's HOUSE OF THE DRAGON and Shares His Excitement for the Series

HBO made some big announcements this week in regards to the future of the Game of Thrones franchise. While one prequel series was canceled, another was greenlit. The project that HBO decided to move forward with is House of the Dragon, which is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and it will tell the story of House Targaryen. The story is said to lead up to and eventually chronicle the house’s civil war, known as the legendary Dance of the Dragons, which was “a massive civil war in the Seven Kingdoms held between two rival branches of House Targaryen.”

The series will be based on Archmaester Gyldayn’s imaginary history Fire & Blood. When talking about the series on his personal blog, George R.R. Martin said:

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON has been in development for several years (though the title has changed a couple of times during that process). It was actually the first concept I pitched to HBO when we started talking about a successor show, way back in the summer of 2016. If you’d like to know a bit more of what the show will be about… well, I can’t actually spill those beans, but you might want to pick up a copy of two anthologies I did with Gardner Dozois, DANGEROUS WOMEN and ROGUES, and then move on to Archmaester Gyldayn’s history, FIRE & BLOOD.

He went on to offer some information on where the series currently stands in development, saying:

“Ryan Condal has already done a considerable amount of writing on HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, but a lot of work remains ahead of us. There’s a writer’s room to be assembled, episodes to be broken down and scripted, a cast and crew to be assembled, budgets and production details to be worked out.  As yet, we don’t even know where we will be shooting… though I expect we will revisit at least some of the countries David & Dan used for GAME OF THRONES (Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, Croatia, Morocco, Malta, and Spain). I expect to be involved in all of this to some extent… and, who knows, if things work out, I may even be able to script a few episodes, as I did for the first four seasons of GAME OF THRONES.”

Martin then makes a point of saying that as of right now finishing Winds of Winter is his top priority:

“But… let me make this perfectly clear… I am not taking on any scripts until I have finished and delivered WINDS OF WINTER.  Winter is still coming, and WINDS remains my priority, as much as I’d love to write an episodes of HOUSE.”

That’s good to hear! I know the fans have been waiting for the book for a long-ass time! That book really needs to finally be finished! Martin then addresses the Game of Thrones prequel series that didn’t make it, saying:

“As exciting as the series order is, I would be remiss if I did not also mention the bad news. HBO also announced that it has decided not to proceed with the other successor show we had in development, the one I kept calling THE LONG NIGHT (though it was, and remains, officially untitled), the pilot for which was shot in Northern Ireland last spring and summer. Set thousands of years before either GAME OF THRONES or HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, and centered on the Starks and the White Walkers, the untitled pilot was written by Jane Goldman, directed by S.J. Clarkson, and starred Naomi Watts, Miranda Richardson, and a splendid cast. It goes without saying that I was saddened to hear the show would not be going to series. Jane Goldman is a terrific screenwriter, and I enjoyed brainstorming with her. I do not know why HBO decided not to go to series on this one, but I do not think it had to do with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON.  This was never an either/or situation. If television has room enough for multiple CSIs and CHICAGO shows… well, Westeros and Essos are a lot bigger, with thousands of years of history and enough tales and legends and characters for a dozen shows.   Heartbreaking as it is to work for years on a pilot, to pour your blood and sweat and tears into it, and have it come to nought, it’s not at all uncommon. I’ve been there myself, more than once. I know Jane and her team are feeling the disappointment just now, and they have all my sympathy… with my thanks for all their hard work, and my good wishes for whatever they do next.”

While it’s a bummer that The Long Night didn’t get picked up, I am excited for House of the Dragon and the story that it will tell. There’s no doubt it will be epic and it seems like they’ve got a talented team on board to bring it to life.