When word broke that George R.R. Martin was attached to the new HBO project Who Fears Death, hyperbolic speculation about his involvement ran rampant. It's understandable, considering Martin and fictional deaths go together like peanut butter and jelly, but now the writer is setting the record straight. Here's what Martin is really doing for Who Fears Death, and how much he'll be involved:
I will be an Executive Producer on Who Fears Death but I will not be the Executive Produce, i.e. the showrunner. That's an important distinction. Should we move forward, there will be a number of Executive Producers, and probably some Co-Executive Producers and Supervising Producers and Producers as well. This is television. I will not be writing the pilot script or adapting Nnedi's novel, and it's doubtful that I will write any episodes should we go to series. Look, I probably won't be writing episodes of ANY television shows until Winds Of Winter is done and delivered, and that goes for the five Game Of Thrones successor shows as well. Other writers will be scripting those pilots, and the same is true for Who Fears Death.
Essentially George R.R. Martin is saying he's on board to help see a project he is passionate about come to life, but without crafting anything himself. Martin continues on in his personal blog to express his excitement to be helping Nnedi Okorafor bring her novel Who Fears Death to the small screen, and says he's been a fan of her work for awhile now. Martin also snuck it in that he isn't writing ANYTHING until he's done with Winds Of Winter, which sounds like he's confirming retirement, considering the snail's pace he's taken in getting that highly-anticipated novel done.
Nnedi Okorafor's Who Fears Death is a science-fiction fantasy that takes place in post-apocalyptic Sudan. The story's genre alone makes it no surprise that George R.R. Martin is involved, considering Game of Thrones and Nightflyers, and once magic shows it, it really does make this team-up a no-brainer. But while excited to be involved in bringing this project to life, Martin is quick to remind fans that there's still a long road to travel before Who Fears Death appears on television:
It should be stressed that this project is still in its early stages. There's a long road ahead. Pilot script, pilot order, series order. But the hope of everyone involved is that, by the end, we can produce something truly special.
Who Fears Death has won a couple awards in the fantasy genre, and has garnered some controversy in regards to its depiction of the African practice of female genital mutilation. This sounds like an HBO project that will both entertain and perhaps shine a spotlight on a real world issue, should Nnedi Okorafor and George R.R. Martin get the project successfully off the ground. Hopefully, things go swimmingly, as an HBO primetime loaded with fantasy shows even half as good as Game Of Thrones sounds like a sweet future.
As George R.R. Martin said, don't expect to see any footage soon from Who Fears Death, but Game Of Thrones will return to HBO on Sunday, July 16th, at 9 p.m. ET. Get pumped for this Sunday by reading up on our recent GoT news like how Sophie Turner believes Sansa deserves Winterfell, or how reading the scirpts caused her to lose her innocence. Fans can also take our quiz to see if they remember certain characters by the way they died. For more information related to great shows premiering this summer, be sure to visit our summer premiere guide.
