Now we know why HBO made a big deal of announcing a huge new pact with George R. R. Martin last week. I mean, he hasn’t even finished the book for the season of “Game of Thrones” that’s come and gone. What could there be for them in a new deal?
Well, it’s a stage version of “Game of Thrones,” which will go to Broadway and London’s West End very much a la “Harry Potter.” HBO isn’t involved yet, but they will be, count on it. It’s going to take a lot of dough to put this production together. Flying dragons will be expected, among other things.
And the casting? Imagine the Broadway stars lining up to play Jon Snow, Daenerys, Oleanna Tyrell, Cersei, and all those Lannisters. The mind boggles. And what about an orchestra to play the theme music? Come on! The merchandising is a gold mine.
All of this will unravel in 2023. And Martin doesn’t even have to write it. He just stands at the door with a collection box. A lovely pay off for a gifted writer an amazing imagination.
Martin says in a statement:
“The seeds of war are often planted in times of peace. Few in Westeros knew the carnage to come when highborn and smallfolk alike gathered at Harrenhal to watch the finest knights of the realm compete in a great tourney, during the Year of the False Spring. It is a tourney oft referred during HBO’s GAME OF THRONES, and in my novels, A SONG OF ICE & FIRE… and now, at last, we can tell the whole story… on the stage.
An amazing team has been assembled to tell the tale, starting with producers Simon Painter, Tim Lawson and Jonathan Sanford. Their knowledge and love of my world and characters has impressed me from the very first, and their plans for this production blew me away since the first time we met. Dominic Cooke, our director, is a former Artistic Director of London’s Royal Court Theatre, who brought Shakespeare’s dramas of the War of the Roses to television, and our playwright, Duncan Macmillan, has previously adapted George Orwell and Henrik Ibsen, among others. Working with them (back before the pandemic, when we could actually get together) has been a treat, and I am eager for our collaboration to resume. Our dream is to bring Westeros to Broadway, to the West End, to Australia… and eventually, to a stage near you. It ought to be spectacular.”
A tip of the hat to the New York Times’ Dave Itzkoff, who offered some lyrics on Twitter:
JON SNOW:
Daenerys
I’ve just met a girl named Daenerys,
I’m totally elated
I hope she’s not related
To me
