George R.R. Martin Says 3 Animated ‘Game of Thrones’ Spin-offs Are in the Works at HBO

George R.R. Martin says that three animated Game of Thrones spin-offs are in works at HBO. The A Song of Ice and Fire author's novels were adapted by HBO into the hit series Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

In a recent blog post in which he sings the praises of the Netflix animated series Blue Eye Samurai, George R.R. Martin writes about animated projects based on his work currently in development. “As it happens, HBO and I have our own animated projects, set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire,” writes Martin. “None of them have been green-lit 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.

“Work on the other two animated projects continues apace, however… and meanwhile, we have moved Nine Voyages, our series about the legendary voyages of the Sea Snake, over from live action to animation. A move I support fully. 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. So we now have three animated projects underway.”

Steve Toussaint Plays Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake, on George R.R. Martin's House of the Dragon

On George R.R. Martin's House of the Dragon, Steve Toussaint plays the Lord of Driftmark Corlys Velaryon, aka the Sea Snake. The animated series Nine Voyages would go further back in time and explore the Sea Snake's earlier oceanic adventures.

It's too early to know if Toussaint would lend his voice to the animated version of his younger on-screen character, but the actor weighed in on the possibility for Entertainment Weekly. “If I'm lucky, I might say to them, ‘Let me just be at the beginning [of the show] sitting with a book saying, ‘Let me talk about my life,'” said Toussaint. “That'll be me petitioning. But no, all you can hope for is that what I do is good enough and vivid enough and interesting enough for people to want to know, how did that person get there? And then that show, whatever that is, whenever that happens, it has a life of its own for whoever the lucky guy is that plays it.”

In an interview with Men's Health before the premiere of George R.R. Martin's House of the Dragon, Toussaint spoke about what makes the so-called Sea Snake such a compelling character. Toussaint said:

“He is this nautical explorer, the richest man in the land, and he's part of the governing council and so forth. But ultimately, for me, what his engine is, is the fact that he's trying to elevate his family, elevate his name. Ambition is his driving force… Corlys had to go out and be a self-made man. He feels that very sharply.”

Regarding Nine Voyages and the other two animated Game of Thrones spin-offs, George R.R. Martin concludes his blog post by writing, “Will any of them make it to air? Happen? No way to know. Nothing is certain in Hollywood. But if it does happen, with one or two or all three shows, I hope we can make them as good as gorgeous and gripping as Blue Eye Samurai. We will for d–n sure try.”

The second season of George R.R. Martin's House of the Dragon will consist of eight episodes and premieres sometime in 2024.