New George R.R. Martin TV Series
George R.R. Martin announced on his live journal blog on Saturday that his long running Wild Cards “series of anthologies and mosaic novels” is headed for television, adding, “Development will begin immediately on what we hope will be the first of several interlocking series“ to be produced by Universal Cable Productions (part of NBCUniversal and the group behind Mr. Robot, The Magicians, and 12 Monkeys). Presumably, this is the continuation of a deal first announced in 2011, when the adaptations were planned for the big screen.
Wild Cards began in the late 1980s and has continued through a series of 22 books (plus graphic novels, comics, and even games extending the stories). Martin describes it as “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.”
Dozens of writers contribute to the series, described by Martin this way,
“on September 15, 1946 … an alien virus was released in the skies over Manhattan, and spread across an unsuspecting Earth. Of those infected, 90% died horribly, drawing the black queen, 9% were twisted and deformed into jokers, while a lucky 1% became blessed with extraordinary and unpredictable powers and became aces.”
No word yet on which of the many stories will be adapted and Martin won’t be working on the project due to his exclusive deal with HBO. He reports that “Melinda M. Snodgrass, my assistant editor and right-hand man on Wild Cards since its inception … is attached as an executive producer.”
To those outside the Martin fan-world, the books are not as well-known as A Song of Ice and Fire, the basis of HBO’s Game of Thrones, and many are out of print. Tor has re-released books 1-5, some with new material. Book 6 due out in 2017.
The Wild Cards site gives information on the books and characters. Martin keeps readers up on the series on his website, and, in a 2010 interview on the Newsarama.com, he offered some further details.
Below Macmillan/Tor re-releases:
Wild Cards I, 2012, Mass Market
Wild Cards II: Aces High, 2013, Mass Market
Wild Cards III: Jokers Wild, 2014, Trade Paperback; Mass Market
Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad, 2015, Trade Paperback
Wild Cards V: Down and Dirty, 2015, Trade Paperback
Wild Cards VI: Ace in the Hole [No cover yet], February 28, 2017, Trade Paperback
A brand new novel arrives in August:
High Stakes: A Wild Cards novel, August 30, 2016, Hardcover