While Game of Thrones is ending after its eighth season, another literary universe overseen by George R.R. Martin could soon be heading to television: The author announced thatWild Cards, the science-fiction superhero anthology Martin has edited for nearly 30 years with Melinda Snodgrass, has netted a development deal with Universal Cable Productions.
Wild Cards is a series of books, graphic novels, games but most of all it is a universe, as large and diverse and exciting as the comic book universes of Marvel and DC (though somewhat grittier, and considerably more realistic and more consistent), with an enormous cast of characters both major and minor, Martin explained on his Live Journal Sunday (via Deadline). There are thousands of stories to be told in the world of the Wild Cards.
Due to Martins exclusive development deal with HBO as well as his years-long efforts to complete work on A Song of Ice and Fires sixth volume The Winds of Winter the author will take a backseat on the actual production of the series, with Snodgrass and television producer Gregory Noveck taking the Wild Cards reins.
Martin added that UCP whose programming includes Mr. Robot, Suits, Syfys 12 Monkeys, Monk and more could bring Wild Cards to the small screen in the next year or two.
With Wild Cards encompassing 22 volumes brimming with thousands of characters, the anthology could provide an even more fertile source material than Game of Thrones. Martin penned a long list of the characters who could feature in the series before focusing on one The Sleeper Croyd Crenson that would definitely appear.
In April 2015, there were reports that Martin had set up a new television show titled Captain Cosmos at HBO, but there has been no news of that project since it was revealed 18 months ago.