George R.R. Martin Offers A Dose Of Reality About All Those Game Of Thrones Spin-Offs

It's been a little over three years since the "Game of Thrones" finale aired. While that fateful episode didn't close out the series the way many had hoped (per NBCNews.com), it didn't exactly tarnish the legacy of the game-changing series. HBO bosses are hoping to keep that legacy alive through epic new shows spun off from George R.R. Martin's beloved original series of novels. And yes, the cable TV titan currently has several "Game of Thrones" adjacent projects in the works.

The hotly-anticipated prequel series "House of the Dragon" is the first of those projects, and will make its HBO debut later this summer — August 21 to be precise. It remains to be seen which of the proposed "GoT" spin-offs will follow, though it's safe to say the most recent addition just became a frontrunner. That series will reportedly continue the tale of Jon Snow, portrayed by Kit Harrington in the original series. News of the sequel broke via The Hollywood Reporter, which noted Harrington is not only eyeing a return to his iconic character but also spearheading moves to get the show off the ground.

Martin took a little time from finishing the final "A Song of Fire and Ice" novel to pen a blog post addressing the "Snow" news, and the status of the other proposed "GoT" spin-offs. In doing so, he offered a brutal reality check about when we might see each.   

As one might expect, George R.R. Martin was promptly hounded by fans and those in the media for comment when THR broke the news of the Jon Snow sequel series. According to the author, that's exactly why he chose to address the rumors via his personal blog. For the good news, Martin confirmed the series is very much in the works, stating candidly, "Yes, there is a Jon Snow show in development." He went on to confirm the show's current title is "Snow," before adding news of the series did not come from any official source, "But yes, it is true. This was not an official announcement from HBO, so it seems there was another leak."

Martin further claimed Kit Harrington has played a major role in getting the show off the ground, "Yes, it was Kit Harrington who brought the idea to us. I cannot tell you the names of the writers/showrunners, since that has not been cleared for release yet... but Kit brought them in too, his own team, and they are terrific." The scribe wisely also tempered the hopes of fans by reminding them that "Snow," and the other "GoT" spin-offs are still in early stages of production, noting specifically how unlikely it is they'll all make it to air, "The likelihood of all four series getting on the air... well, I'd love it, but that's not the way it works, usually."

Indeed, HBO will likely wait to see how "House of the Dragon" performs before officially green-lighting further "GoT" spin-offs. But we'd be legitimately shocked if they didn't give "Snow" a go.