If you're brainstorming ways to deal with your upcoming Game of Thrones withdrawal (there are 13 episodes left in the series, split into two different seasons), think again: HBO just announced that it is developing different scripts for spinoffs that will "explore different time periods of George R.R. Martin's vast and rich universe."
Given the show's extreme popularity, it is no surprise that the network has found a way to keep the momentum going even after the final six episode of the series air next year (the penultimate, six-episode season kicks off on July 16 of this year).
The official network statement includes a note about four writers that HBO is currently dealing with—Jane Goldman, Brian Helgeland, Carly Wray and Max Borenstein—fueling speculation that audiences will have four different spinoff shows to binge on.
"There is no set timetable for these projects," reads the statement. "We'll take as much or as little time as the writers need and, as with all our development, we will evaluate what we have when the scripts are in."
George R.R. Martin, a writer and producer on the show and the author of the books that the series is based on, will serve as an executive producer on all future projects, side by side with Games of Thrones writers and producers Dan Weiss and David Benioff, who were kept abreast of recent developments while writing the show's final season.
Will the new projects be prequels? Sequels? Which characters will they be focusing on? That's all up in the air, but one thing is certain: Westeros isn't going anywhere any time soon.