Westeros

Over at the “Not a Blog”—which will soon be retired in preference to a new blog, we’re told—George R.R. Martin has taken the time to discuss the recent news that HBO has four pilot scripts in development for a potential successor to Game of Thrones. George’s post is very illuminating, clarifying some details and providing a few hints, as well as a couple of clear and categorical responses.

It’s worth reading, but below are some key points:

• George rules out three particular ideas: any “sequel” to Game of Thrones, the “Dunk & Egg” novellas (because he still has stories to tell and does not want a repeat of a show surpassing what he has written), and Robert’s Rebellion (because he feels that it would not make sense as an immediate follow-up to Thrones).
• There are now five, not four, scripts; the fifth, recently added to the development slate, comes from “a great guy and a fine writer, and aside from me and maybe Elio and Linda, I don’t know anyone who knows and loves Westeros as well as he does.”
• Last August, George pitched two ideas to HBO for a successor show, one of which is under development and one which isn’t.
• GRRM is consulting with all the writers working on scripts, not just Jane Goldman and Carly Wray as previously reported. That said, we’d guess Goldman or Wray is working on the one pitch from George that HBO has decided to go forward with
• Martin notes that his discussions with writers have included material from The World of Ice and Fire and even The Lands of Ice and Fire map collection, suggesting that at least one of the scripts will deal in part with events outside of Westeros.