The name George R.R. Martin went from one well-known in bookish nerd circles prior to the launch of HBO’s Game of Thrones, but now the Santa Fe-based author has become one of the world’s most popular and beloved writers. In fact, he says an even bigger world is on the way. Martin announced in the blog post that Universal Cable Productions has picked up the rights to Wild Cards and plans to turn it into a TV series to be released within the next year or two.
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The Wild Cards series encompasses over 20 books of short stories and shared universe novels, and there are more on the way. The first novel, Wild Cards, came out in 1987. The next one comes out later this month, and three others are on the way. Considering there are thousands of stories and tons of characters in play in the Wild Cards universe there is a wealth of content and ideas for the team to work on. Most of the survivors were twisted and deformed into so-called jokers, cursed with weird mental or physical disabilities. 90 percent of those infected by the virus died horribly as a result of drawing the “black queen”.
Martin called the news “exciting” for Wild Cards fans, but those aren’t the only people he’s reaching out to.
We don’t have any more details on Wild Cards at the moment but be sure to keep checking in with CinemaBlend and we’ll keep you updated as new information becomes available. Instead, assistant editor Melinda M. Snodgrass, whose TV writing credits include Star Trek: The Next Generation, Outer Limits and Profiler, will spearhead the project with Gregory Noveck (Red) and serve as an executive producer.
For those who are familiar with the anthology series and are looking to know which actual stories or characters will be adapted, Martin said it’s hard to say at this stage. “It wouldn’t be Wild Cards without the Sleeper”. You will be seeing Croyd Crenson, no matter shape the eventual show or shows ends up taking.
No word when the series would start being developed for a network, though Martin hopes it’s in “the next year or two”.
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Martin makes clear that he is not working on the adaptation himself, as his own television development deal makes him exclusive to HBO, and he is quite busy working on The Winds of Winter.
