HBO has ordered a pilot for a series based on A Song of Fire and Ice, the hit series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin.
Should the series be picked up, the first season will tell the story of the first book in the series, A Game of Thrones. Each subsequent season would tell the story of the next book.
Martin has published four books in the series and plans to release three more.
“They tried for 50 years to make Lord of the Rings as one movie before Peter Jackson found success making three,” Martin told Variety two years ago, when the project was first optioned. “My books are bigger and more complicated, and would require 18 movies. Otherwise, you’d have to choose one or two characters.”
George R. R. Martin
In the books, different family dynasties fight for control of the medieval land of Westeros, using both intrigue and brute force. In the northern lands, mysterious creatures from beyond a massive wall plan an invasion of their own, turning their victims into the undead.
The cast is sweeping, and the plot complicated, but the series has been phenomenally successful, with more the 2.2 million copies sold in the U.S. alone. The last released book, A Feast for Crows, debuted at the top of the New York Times Bestseller List — an extremely rare accomplishment for a fantasy author.
“Fantasy is the most successful genre in terms of feature films given the incredible popularity of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies, David Benioff, one of the TV series executive producers and the writer of Troy, told The Hollywood Reporter in November.
According to Benioff, “High fantasy has never been done on TV before, and if anybody can do it, it’s HBO. They’ve taken tired genres and reinvented them — mobsters in ‘The Sopranos and westerns with Deadwood.”
Production of the actual series is not guaranteed, but the chances are good. HBO has ordered ten projects to pilot, and will reportedly turn about six into full series. The break-out success of last year’s True Blood, a fantasy-related vampire drama on HBO, could up the odds. Showtimes’ period series The Tudors has also done well.
“It’s not a story with a million orcs charging across the plains,” D. B.Weiss, another executive producer, told The Hollywood Reporter. “The most expensive effects are creature effects, and there’s not much of that.”
Fantasy is extremely rare on series television, due to the expensive costumes, sets, and special effects. Currently, Legend of the Seeker, a fantasy series created by Sam Raimi based on books by Terry Goodkind, runs in first-run syndication, and Kings, a fantasy series set in a “alternate” contemporary world, debuts on NBC in March. Krod Mangoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, a humorous fantasy series, will debut on Comedy Central in April.
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Congratulations, George! I’ve been following the progress of this for a few years now and I’m really excited to see you’ve made it to pilot season 2010! :) Casting can sometimes be a ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ thing– I’d love to know who others feel would be a good ‘fantasy cast’ for Thrones; HBO takes their sh*t seriously and it’s among 2 or three others that excel time after time with their projects, regardless of genre.
Your work is truly impeccable and will last for years to come. There are writers and there are creators— You, among a handful of auteurs, are both! MTP is looking forward to keeping true to your vision in bringing ‘The Skin Trade’ to screen as Development is going very well thus far. Thanks for the opportunity and congrats on everything- your humanity truly shines through your prose.
HBO will do it right, unlike the Sword of Truth series, which is kinda cheezy. If anything like Rome, it should be amazing. I heard that HBO cast Sean Bean as Ned for the pilot.
I was mildly dissapointed in book 4 mainly because so little of it had to do with the north and too much with Pike. Still, compared to the later novels in “Wheel of Time” and “Sword of Truth”, I think “Feast” stacks up pretty well.
Reread Crows. And then reread it again. I didnt like it the first time through, the second time was good. And the third time through made me realize the book was fantastic.
Oh geez. This makes me nervous. There is SO MUCH that happens in each book! How can they possibly hope to encompass it all? I mean, I guess it’s better that it’s for TV, and not an attempt to lump it all together into one impossibly long movie, but still…they’re such good books, I’d hate to see them ruined or pared down to bare bones.
It’s very true, but they’ll have a whole season to tell each book at least–not just a movie’s length, as in LoTRs.
The fourth book has a lot of supporters, looking at reviews and award nominations the book received. It certainly has more divided opinion than the previous books.
According to what Martin has said, he’d write one script per season. Mostly, Benioff and Weiss would take care of running the show, however.
Martin does have a history of writing for television, so I’m sure he’d do a good job.
Regarding CROWS, I think he lost control of his story.
I am SO excited about this. Love these books — although the last one went off the rails. Do you really think HBO will spend the money to make this good? I know they spent a fortune on Rome and were disappointed by the returns and didn’t do another season. And how much will Martin be involved with the project?
Did ANYONE like that last book? What a MESS–and such a surprise after those first three fantastic books.
It sounds like Martin is writing some scripts, if I recall correctly (he was a writer on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST).
Yes, HBO will spend the money. Wait till you see NBC’s KINGS, coming in March.