George R.R. Martin is developing a new series for HBO

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Looks like George R.R. Martin is going to be raking in more of that sweet sweet HBO money; Entertainment Weekly spoke with the author who revealed that he has a new science-fiction project in the works at HBO. The series, called Captain Cosmos at the moment, is in the early stages of development with a pilot being written by Michael Cassutt, a writer and co-executive producer on SyFy's Z Nation. The project isn't expected to be a big time commitment on Martin's part, so those of you already angry that he has one more "distraction" from writing can simmer down. The author didn't offer much information on the potential series beyond the basic pitch:

At the dawn of the age of TV in 1949, a visionary young writer creates a science fiction series that tells stories no one else will dare to tell.

Based on that small snippet of information I'm certainly intrigued by the possibilities this could bring. The time-frame is a little early but I'm immediately envisioning an alternate reality in which Rod Sterling deals with otherworldly events and uses those experiences to fuel his stories for The Twilight Zone.

George R.R. Martin is currently hard at work on "The Winds of Winter", he's even cancelled several convention appearances and interviews to renew his focus. He's hoping to have the book on the shelves before the sixth season of Game of Thrones airs next spring; perhaps the news that the show will overtake the books lit a bit of a fire under him. Martin also teased that he recently came up with a big revealing twist for a long-time character that he had never previously considered:

This is going to drive your readers crazy, but I love it. I’m still weighing whether to go that direction or not. It’s a great twist. It’s easy to do things that are shocking or unexpected, but they have to grow out of characters. They have to grow out of situations. Otherwise, it’s just being shocking for being shocking. But this is something that seems very organic and natural, and I could see how it would happen. And with the various three, four characters involved… it all makes sense. But it’s nothing I’ve ever thought of before. And it’s nothing they can do in the show, because the show has already—on this particular character—made a couple decisions that will preclude it, where in my case I have not made those decisions.

Any guesses on who he might be talking about? Could be anyone I suppose. Personally I'm not too worried about the TV show overtaking the book series; I've always enjoyed them as two separate entities and would much rather George work at his own pace than plow forwards because of the demands of fans. Game of Thrones will return to HBO on April 12, 2015.