With Game Of Thrones still proving to be a huge success for HBO, naturally, everyone is looking for other George R.R. Martin creations to push to the screen. Now Martin himself has announced a new move by Universal Cable Productions in the States to adapt his Wild Cards comic book anthologies and mosaic novels for TV.
This is an odd one, as it was announced back in 2011 that Wild Cards had been optioned by Universal and its low-budget off-shoot SyFy Films{
Regardless, the Wild Cards series seems a prime prospect for TV series transition. Launched in 1986, it has become a sprawling, connected universe of characters, spun from an original idea of Martin and Snodgrass. It's an alt-history tale kicking off with a virus released over the skies of New York City in 1946, spreading quickly. Of those infected, 90% die horribly, drawing the black queen, 9% become twisted and deformed into jokers, while a lucky 1% are blessed with extraordinary and unpredictable powers and become known as aces.
The series has ben written by various writers through the years, with Martin contributing occasionally, but largely editing others' tales, a factor that became increasingly necessary with his duties on the Thrones books and TV series. Cards' stories evolve alongside history – there's no retconning or relaunching; characters age and die. This time, Martin won't be directly involved in the potential show because of his HBO deal, so Snodgrass and Gregory Noveck are overseeing things.
If the series does actually get off the ground this time, there's a chance it could become a melting pot for great fiction and screenwriters to work on tales, much in the way that the original Star Trek series attracted some of the giants of the genre. Of course, it'll have to make it through development first.