The author of acclaimed book series and TV show Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, has revealed that the planned A Song of Ice and Fire series 9 Voyages has pivoted from live-action to animation, joining two other animated Game of Thrones spin-offs in talks at HBO.
Revealing the news in a blog post on his website, he said budgetary concerns had led to the change, which he fully supports.
“We have moved 9 Voyages, our series about the legendary voyages of the Sea Snake, over from live action to animation, a move I support fully,” Martin said.
9 Voyages, also called The Sea Snake, is being developed by Rome series creator Bruno Heller.
“Budgetary constraints would likely have made a live-action version prohibitively expensive, what with half the show taking place at sea, and the necessity of creating a different port every week, from Driftmark to Lys to the Basilisk Isles to Volantis to Qarth to… well, on and on and on. There’s a whole world out there. And we have a lot better chance of showing it all with animation,” he added.
The series will follow the adventures of Lord Corlys Velaryon, played by Steve Toussaint in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon, and will expand the Game of Thrones universe alongside two other animated projects, if they’re approved.
Speaking about whether the other two projects would go ahead, he said, “None of them have been greenlit yet, but I think we are getting close to taking the next step with a couple of them.
“When this last round of development started a few years back, we had four ideas for animated shows with some great talents attached. Writers rooms and summits, outline and scripts followed in due course, but, alas, two of the original projects were subsequently shelved.
“Those of you who have read my reports in years past may recall that I prefer to say ‘shelved’ rather than ‘killed,’ as nothing is ever dead for good in Hollywood, and a project put on the shelf one year can be taken off the shelf a few years later. I still have hopes of presenting the stories that we shelved in another form, perhaps as graphic novels.
“Will any of them make it to air? Happen? No way to know,” he concluded. “Nothing is certain in Hollywood.”
House of the Dragon is set to premiere in June and stream in Kenya on Showmax courtesy of HBO.
