HBO Boss Calls 'Game of Thrones' Prequels an Embarrassment of Riches

HBO absolutely blew us away when they first introduced us to Westeros in 2011. And over the last several years, millions of loyal fans have faithfully watched as the drama unfolds. With how popular the series has been, it's no wonder that countless fans have been anxiously begging for more, so when HBO confirmed that four prequel series were in the works, fans were excited to say the least. Now it seems that a fifth prequel is being scripted by Game of Thrones veteran, Bryan Cogman.

While attending Mipcom, and entertainment trade show, HBO Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler had an interesting comment about what the future holds for HBO's tales of Westeros.

"... it’s a fantastic group of writers and talent, most of whom have lived inside the Thrones eco-system so are very, very familiar with its intricacies. I think we will find with this embarrassment of [writing] riches an exciting property for us to moves forward with. We are looking [at] some things, I have read a couple of early bibles and I’m excited about what I’ve seen."

Plepler's comment about most of the writers having "lived inside the Thrones eco-system" is interesting when you consider that Bryan Cogman is the only writer attached who fits that description. Since Cogman has been with Game of Thrones from the beginning and is highly regarded as one of the most prolific writers of the series, it's certainly an exciting bit of news for fans.

With Cogman developing the script for the fifth prequel, there's a good chance that this will become the first followup series for the network.

What do we really know about the prequels?

Although there aren't many known details about any of the scripts, we do know that they are specifically targeting the scripts as prequels, rather than spinoffs. This means that although a series like The Adventures of Bronn and Jaime would be great fun, it won't happen. Each series will therefore be set before the events of the current story laid out in Game of Thrones.

For some time, many fans hoped that the story of Robert's Rebellion would be one of the prequel ideas, but George R.R. Martin himself has denied those claims. As entertaining as it would be, Robert's Rebellion would be tied too closely with the current events of Game of Thrones - so it's more likely that some of the prequels will be set during the 300-year Targaryen's reign. It's also possible that we see a story set in Essos, focusing on the House of Black and White and the Faceless Men.

With so many incredibly names attached to the prequel scripts like Carly Wray (Mad Men), Max Borenstein (Kong: Skull Island, Minority Report), Jane Goldman (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Bryan Cogman, we're bound to have something truly exquisite!