Game of Thrones prequel projects

HBO is developing multiple prequel projects to follow the main Game of Thrones TV series.

As of 2018, five pitches have been put forward, by five separate potential showrunners. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will not return to write for subsequent projects. George R.R. Martin has seen the pitch ideas and will personally be a co-producer on two of them.

Martin has insisted that these upcoming projects be called "successor shows" or prequel projects, but not "spinoffs" - feeling that "spinoff" implies a deeper connection to the Game of Thrones TV series, but any potential ideas they are considering take place generations or centuries before the main TV series, and would not feature living characters or returning actors.

Officially ruled-out prequels
Of the five prequel projects being considered by 2018, Martin did rule out certain prequel ideas which are definitely not among them:


 * Robert's Rebellion - Martin confirmed this is not among the five pitch ideas, and he reiterated that he never wants it to be adapted as a live-action prequel. Even before the Game of Thrones TV series, Martin has consistently said that he never wants to even write a prequel novella detailing Robert's Rebellion through active POV narration.  Robert's Rebellion is a framing device for the main A Song of Ice and Fire series, and as the novels progress, more and more of its events are revealed through flashback - to the point that Martin feels he will have revealed everything about it by the time the main novels end.
 * The Tales of Dunk and Egg - Martin stated that this is not among the five pitches, and while he does want to see it have a live-action adaptation at some point, he only wants to do so after the prequel novella series is finished. The main Game of Thrones TV series went into production before the main novel series was finished, leading to numerous complications.  In turn, he has also said he won't finish the Tales of Dunk and Egg until the main novel series is finished.  So far, this prequel series consists of three novellas, out of a planned ten to twelve.
 * The reign of Aegon the Unworthy - Since the late 1990's, Martin has actually said that he might enjoy writing a prequel novel about the reign of Aegon IV Targaryen - infamously the worst king in the history of Westeros. Tonally, he described the story as somewhat in the style of Blackadder or Flashman, with a villain protagonist who cheats his way to power.  Nonetheless, Martin mentioned in comments on his blog that Aegon the Unworthy is not one of the five prequel pitches currentlybeing considered.

Proposed prequel projects
As of 2018, five prequel pitches were made to HBO. The identities of all five are still unknown, though Martin did say that one of them "isn't set in Westeros".

The five potential showrunners are:


 * Jane Goldman
 * Carly Wray
 * Brian Helgeland
 * Max Borenstein
 * Bryan Cogman

Jane Goldman and Carly Wray's projects both have George R.R. Martin himself attached as a co-producer.

HBO executives have stated that, due to basic logistics, only one of these projects will be produced at any one time. HBO representatives have stated that they don't intend for the first prequel to air immediately after the Game of Thrones series finale (in the sense that it won't premiere the same night as the series finale, a promotional style other franchise have followed in the past). Martin believes that HBO is aiming for the first one to premiere in 2020, one year after the Game of Thrones series finale.

It is unknown if all five pitch ideas are even meant to be full "TV series" lasting in the range of 4-5 TV seasons, or take the form of a one-shot miniseries, a high-budget TV movie, etc.

It is unknown how HBO is deciding between the five different pitch ideas. It hasn't been announced if all of them will receive pilot episodes, or if any will go straight to full series. HBO itself might not have settled on a method.

In June 2018, HBO announced that it has ordered a live-action pilot episode for Jane Goldman's prequel pitch, and revealed its identity: it will about the Age of Heroes and the Long Night the occurred during it, when the White Walkers first appeared and nearly destroyed the world.

It is unknown if this means Goldman's prequel was officially settled on, or, if all five pitches will ultimately make pilot episodes, and HBO will then decide which to greenlight for a full series based on those. Even if HBO orders a pilot, it must be stressed, there is no guarantee that they will ultimately greenlight the pilot: even the main Game of Thrones TV series infamously had a failed Pilot episode, after which the project was very nearly canceled.