There Are Actually *Five* Game of Thrones Spinoffs in the Works

Though we have two months until the next Game of Thrones season airs, the action with the show off-screen simply does not stop. George R.R. Martin just revealed that HBO is developing five spinoffs of the epic series, not four as previously announced.

Martin, author and creator of the entire GoT universe, unveiled what's in the works on his LiveJournal blog on Sunday evening and we've been reeling ever since. In his update, the famed A Song of Ice and Fire author revealed that all of the show's offshoots will be prequels to the series as we know it, which will wrap for its eighth and final season in 2018.

Last month, HBO disclosed that it was taking an even deeper dive into the world of Westeros by hiring four screenwriters to work on pilot scripts. Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss as well as Martin will serve as executive producers, though there's no telling quite yet how many will be greenlit into full series. Though basing it off of GoT's global popularity, we don't see how all won't be. The fifth writer has yet to be named, though Max Borenstein, Brian Helgeland, Carly Wray, and Jane Goldman have been confirmed.

"We had four scripts in development when I arrived in L.A. last week, but by the time I left we had five," penned Martin in his blog post. "He's a really terrific addition, however, a great guy and a fine writer, and aside from me and maybe Elio [Garcia] and Linda [Antonsson], I don't know anyone who knows and loves Westeros as well as he does." Garcia and Antonsson are co-authors of The World of Ice and Fire, a companion book to Martin's main series. So we know there's a new man in the mix, but that's it.

Martin confirmed he has been working with four of the writers quite closely and that they all had visited him in Santa Fe, at least once. The author also plans to write "at least seven or eight or 10 more" short novellas, based on knight Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg, who are living at least 100 years before the main stories in A Song of Ice and Fire take place. Those won't be adapted for the small screen until all of the novellas are completed, with Martin writing "Eventually, sure, I'd love that, and so would many of you." He couldn't be more right!

Game of Thrones returns on July 16. We have our calendars marked, but now we're so excited about what's to come with these prequels! Let's hope Martin reveals more in the coming months.