George R.R. Martin Confirms Exactly How Many ‘Game of Thrones’ Spin-offs Are Coming

As the end of Game of Thrones draws near, even author George R.R. Martin is feeling a little nostalgic. But instead of dwelling entirely on the past, he’s also ready to talk about the future.

The 70-year-old author, who wrote the Fire & Ice book series from which GoT is based, revealed details about upcoming Thrones spin-offs in the works at HBO. Spoiler alert: There are a few still in contention for a series pickup.

“We have had five different Game of Thrones successor shows in development (I mislike the term ‘spinoffs’) at HBO, and three of them are still moving forward nicely,” the author wrote on his blog this past weekend.

He did not explain what his particular beef with the word “spinoffs” is, but that’s an issue for another time.

Martin went on to give an update about the forthcoming GoT prequel series, which stars Naomi Watts. “The one I am not supposed to call The Long Night will be shooting later this year, and two other shows remain in the script stage, but are edging closer,” he wrote.

The prequel takes place thousands of years before GoT and reveals the origins of the White Walkers, explores the mysterious East and introduces the first Starks. It’s set to begin production this summer with British director S.J. Clarkson (Toast) at the helm and will likely premiere on HBO sometime in 2020 or 2021.

The author played coy on the subject of plot for the two other mysterious shows. He instead directed fans to read Fire & Blood and come up with their own theories about what the “successor shows” might be about.

We might just take you up on that, George.