Westeros

Via a report in Variety, we’ve learned that Steve Conrad—creator of Amazon’s Patriot and other shows—has been attached as lead writer and executive producer of a potential (emphasis on the potential) Game of Thrones-universe hour-long series based on the Dunk and Egg novellas [Note: Amazon affiliate link].

To date, three novellas introducing readers to Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg have been published, with a fourth existing in a partial state. Beyond that, George R.R. Martin revealed substantial hints about the future of the two characters as planned in additional novellas in our own The World of Ice and Fire, sketching out Dunk’s and Egg’s history all the way through their deaths.

A new book released today, James Andrew Miller’s Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers, is a massive 1,000 page tome that looks at the rise of HBO as the destination for prestige television from the past and all the way to the present. In the course of it, of course, the book can’t but help touch on Game of Thrones. While it covers ground already revealed in past interviews and books (such as James Hibberd’s Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon), there’s a few new details… particularly from a voice fans have not heard before, George R.R. Martin’s long-time entertainment agent, Paul Haas, concerning the final season and its relation to GRRM’s plans for A Song of Ice and Fire.

[Note: This post contains Amazon.com affiliate links.]

George R.R. Martin in the Eyrie on the set of Game of Thrones.

The Linen Mill Studios website, where the official Game of Thrones Studio Tour is being developed, has been updated recently to reveal that they are holding numerous open recruiting days in a drive to fill a number of positions for the world’s one and only permanent Game of Thrones tour. Though announced back in 2019 with a prospective 2020 opening date, the global pandemic has pushed back the opening to what looks to be some time next year.

Among the open positions: studio tour guides, station personnel, payroll, and even the general manager. While some of the recruitment days have already passed, those in Belfast are still ahead and can be found below:

In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter‘s James Hibberd, co-showrunner and director Miguel Sapochnik offers a bit of insight into House of the Dragon, assuring viewers that the show honors Game of Thrones while at the same time being its own thing, with its own story to tell and its own tone.

One of the quotes from Sapochnik in more detail: ‘I think we were very respectful of what the original show is. It wasn’t broken so we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. House of the Dragon has its own tone that will evolve and emerge over the course of the show. But first, it’s very important to pay respects and homage to the original series, which was pretty groundbreaking. We’re standing on the shoulders of that show and we’re only here because of that show. So the most important thing for us to do is to respect that show as much as possible and try and compliment it rather than reinvent it. And I was involved in making the original show, so I feel like that’s been useful. Like, I’m not arriving going, “Let’s change everything! Let’s do a different color palette!” No, I quite like the color palette.’

Last month, the first ever official Game of Thrones convention was announced by WB Themed Entertainment and Creation Entertainment. Now they’ve followed up with an announcement of the first set of actors who will appear at the convention:

The event will take place from February 18th through the 20th at the Rio Hotel & Suites Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Select tickets are now already available for purchase, and more announcements of further talent to come.

Full press release below!

A happy occasion for bibliophiles, as the latest entry in the Folio Society’s A Song of Ice and Fire illustrated editions has now been released: A Feast for Crows in a beautiful, slipcased two-volume edition with beautiful artwork by Jonathan Burton. Below, you’ll find the Folio Society’s video for the launch, as well as a few images they’ve sent to us share!

The newly released teaser has enough interesting images in it of characters, scenes, and costumes and props that we thought we should comment on a selection of them. Images, and our thoughts, follow!

HBO Max has given fans a pleasant surprise with a first look at House of the Dragon, in the form of a Matt Smith-narrated teaser showing a number of scenes and characters from the show, as well as confirming several significant new cast members. See the video below, and the press release about new cast following that.

Blackfyre looks great, we have to say. So, too, does Daemon Targaryen’s tournament armor with the dragon wings on the helm (an idea we used on our game, Blood of Dragons, for Aemon the Dragonknight, grandson of Prince Daemon). And, perhaps the biggest surprise at all, a revised vision of the Iron Throne and its dais to try and bring it more in line with George R.R. Martin’s actual vision of as a monstrous, twisted construction. There’s even a tourney scene featuring Criston Cole (distinguishable by his coat of arms, ten black pellets on red, on his shield) and a knight of House Tarly (possibly the future Lord Alan Tarly, who sides with the blacks?), though the array of banners there are rather curious: Lannister and what looks like Lefford, perhaps Corbray… but also Bolton, Stark, and what might be a take on Manderly (the latter at a southron tourney seems okay to us… but the Boltons and Starks would be incredibly unlikely to appear at a tourney in what appears to be the Reach.)

We plan to screen cap and go in more detail at some of the images and scenes later this evening, for those curious.

The press release follows:

HBO has confirmed a number of previously-unannounced cast members, confirming at least one casting that was already figured out by fans (the popular Graham McTavish of Outlander, The Hobbit, and Men in Kilts) and a number of other significant characters who play pivotal roles in the events covered by House of the Dragon, which is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood.

Top L-R: Ryan Corr, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Graham McTavish. Bottom L-R: Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson and Gavin Spokes

Ryan Condal’s and David Mandel’s The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of podcast about movie and television prop collecting has returned after a mid-season hiatus, and it starts with a bang as Condal recruits none other than George R. R. Martin to discuss his own history as a collector, as well as just a wee bit of discussion of House of the Dragons at the end. Fans should find this one pretty interesting, in particular George’s feelings regarding the ideal adapters of his work going forward.

Discussion of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon related matter begins around the 1 hour, 18 minute mark.

Today marks the 73rd birthday of one George Raymond Richard Martin, known and beloved as George R. R. Martin, or GRRM for short. George has posted a brief remark on this happy occasion at “Not a Blog”, quoting from T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”.

Creation Entertainment and Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment have announced an official Game of Thrones fan convention to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio Hotel & Suites Convention Center on February 18-20, 2022. This is the first ever official convention for the show, and promises to have many guests, panels, and events, as well as merchandise for sale.

We’ve placed the full press release below:

A spate of reports concerning the FromSoftware’s forthcoming RPG Elden Ring, as the developers have provided game journalists access to previews of the game and interviews with the developers. The game, from a developer already extremely famous for its Dark Souls series, added George R. R. Martin to its creative team when the game first entered development. Now, in an interview transcribed at The Verge, Yasuhiro Kitao from FromSoft reveals that GRRM’s participation was very early on and quite particular.

A newly-released screenshot from Elden Ring.

The 2022 A Song of Ice and Fire Calendar [Affiliate link] is now available, as George R.R. Martin has noted on Twitter with a post featuring a fantastic preview of one of the pieces by Spanish artist Arantza Sestayo.

The image depicts the ravens being sent out from Dragonstone, with one of the best depictions we’ve seen of the citadel’s many terrifying gargolyes and the stone shaped by Valyrian magic.

James Hibberd has another scoop, reporting that HBO Max has ended development of the previously reported series focused on Flea Bottom. But it also is developing two new animated projects to join a previusly announced animated show, and one of them is based on Yi Ti, an ancient and high civilization far to the east of the Seven Kingdoms that is inspired by Chinese history and culture. The World of Ice and Fire is the source of much of what we know of Yi Ti, including its people and their descent from the Great Empire of the Dawn who may have had a role in the Long Night.

Artist’s conception of the imperial capital, Yin.