Fifth Game of Thrones Prequel in Development at HBO

When you have a series as popular and beloved as Game of Thrones, it makes sense that you’d like to extend the story beyond the original series. It’s made doubly sensible for HBO considering George R. R. Martin’s multi-volume series is so richly detailed, with backstories and a sprawling history that amounts to several potential TV series worth of material. HBO was already considering four different GoT prequels once Game of Thrones 8th and final season ends, and now it appears they’ve got a fifth potential prequel in the works.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Game of Thrones scribe/producer Bryan Cogman is developing a project alongside of Martin. Cogman’s a veteran GoT hand, having been with the show since the very first episode—he wrote “Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things,” the fourth episode of the first season. Some of his most notable episodes include two bonafide standouts, “Oathkeeper” and “The Laws of Gods and Men,” and one of the show’s most controversial episodes ever, “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken,” in which Ramsay Bolton rapes Sansa (but the camera pans to Theon/Reek’s reaction, which drew major condemnation for considering the moment through his eyes.)

There aren’t many details about what Cogman and Martin’s prequel would be about as of yet, and it stands to reason (with HBO programming president Casey Bloys saying as much) that HBO won’t greenlight every prequel series. The other prequels currently under consideration are being worked on by Kong: Skull Island scribe Max Bornstein; Kingsman: The Secret Service writer Jane Goldman; 42 writer/director Brian Helgeland; and The Leftovers writer/producer Carly Wray. George R. R. Martin is involved with Goldman and Wray’s prequels.

Featured image courtesy HBO.