HBO has approved production of a pilot for A Game of Thrones, a drama based on George R.R. Martin’s best-selling fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire.
“It’s just the pilot so far,” Martin writes on his blog. “They’ll need to see that before they decide whether to proceed with a full season’s episodes. So let’s all hope the pilot will kick serious ass. … It should. David Benioff and Dan Weiss did a terrific job with the script. And yes, all of you can relax, it’s very faithful. Dan and David will be the executive producers for the pilot and (we hope) the eventual series.”
The cable network acquired the rights to the property nearly two years ago. Plans are for each novel in the planned seven-book cycle to provide a season’s worth of episodes. A Game of Thrones is the title of the first book, which was published in 1996.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that if Thrones receives an episodic order, it would represent the rarerest of TV genres: the full-fledged fantasy series. They’re just too expensive.
Set primarily on a sprawling continent called Westeros, A Song of Ice and Fire centers on a dynastic civil war for the Iron Throne, the threat of creatures from the north known as the Others, and the journey of the exiled daughter of the rightful king.
The fifth book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, is tentatively set for release in April.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
My wife tore through all four current books in this series this past spring, and has been trying to get me to read them ever since. I think I’m finally going to take the plunge once I finish the book I’m reading now.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
April! oh for the love of everything good and holy please crank this sucker out!
Your Truly
Hurry Up Martin