HBO's Upcoming Pilot Game of Thrones Takes on a Fictional World

As reported in this article, HBO has been hard at work since October filming the pilot for the upcoming yet-to-be-greenlit series, Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones is to be the screen adaptation of George R. R. Martin's best selling medieval fantasy novel of the same name. This novel is the first of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series all dealing with a world of medieval intrigue and war where the heroes and villains are hard to tell apart and magical predators are held at bay by a towering wall of ice.

David Benioff (Troy, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Dan Weiss are executive producers and writers for the pilot, which started production in Belfast, Ireland in October 2009. A final decision on the full series is expected to be made by March, 2010. Fans are hopeful that rumors of a greenlit series are true, but so far, HBO is not talking. If picked up, the series will most likely air in spring 2011. Each series would roughly cover the material for one novel. Currently there are four published novels, including A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows. Martin is at work writing A Dance of Dragons, to be the fifth novel in a planned seven. Right now the best website for all news concerned with the series is at Winter is Coming, a fan blog which both faithfully compiles all confirmed news and speculates on the rumors. The newest rumor is that despite hints that HBO executives were not entirely happy with the pilot, the series has been greenlit and is already gearing up for filming.