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George R.R. Martin--the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, which was adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones --is developing a live stage play for Broadway, West End and Australia. The show will bring fan-favorites like Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister back to life while dramatizing a legendary event in Westeros history.
A dramatic stage show based on the fantasy world created by Martin is now in development, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The play is from producers Simon Painter and Tim Lawson, in partnership with Kilburn Live, and will have a story by Martin, who is working alongside award-winning playwright Duncan MacMillan and acclaimed director Dominic Cooke. The team’s goal is to debut productions in New York City, London’s West End and in Australia, with the first show being expected to launch in 2023.
The upcoming production will include a particularly unique story element: While many prequel projects have been put into development since Game of Thrones concluded in 2019, this will mark the first to bring back several of the most beloved characters from the popular series. The play has not yet been titled, but is set during a pivotal moment in Westeros history, The Great Tourney at Harrenhal, a contest that took place just 16 years before the events in Game of Thrones.
According to the play’s official description: “The play will for the first time take audiences deeper behind the scenes of a landmark event that previously was shrouded in mystery. Featuring many of the most iconic and well-known characters from the series, the production will boast a story centered around love, vengeance, madness and the dangers of dealing in prophecy, in the process revealing secrets and lies that have only been hinted at until now.”
Martin also spoke about the production, giving fans some insight into what they can expect from the play.
“The seeds of war are often planted in times of peace,” Martin said in a statement. “Few in Westeros knew the carnage to come when highborn and smallfolk alike gathered at Harrenhal to watch the finest knights of the realm compete in a great tourney, during the Year of the False Spring. It is a tourney oft referred during HBO‘s Game of Thrones, and in my novels, A Song of Ice & Fire … and now, at last, we can tell the whole story... on the stage.”
This news comes following George R.R. Martin striking a new five-year overall deal with HBO to create content for the network. The network has already greenlit one Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, which is expected to premiere in 2022.