The work of Game Of Thrones novelist George RR Martin continues to be a popular one for studios and TV outlets. Now a small screen project based on one of his series, Wild Cards has attracted new interest, with US streaming service Hulu commissioning not one, but two shows based on it.
Wild Cards, which Martin edited alongside Melinda Snodgrass, was launched in 1986. Since then, 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 worked on 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.
Rights to the stories were originally snapped up back in 2011, but lay dormant on the film side until Universal Cable Productions took over dealing with it in 2016. Since then, there has seemingly been little movement until today's announcement that Hulu has Andrew Miller overseeing a writer's room for two shows. For Everything You Need To Know about the book series, head here.
For those keeping score on the Martin front, Game Of Thrones is wrapping up next year (with an April launch date for Season 8), and at least one spin-off prequel has started the casting process. Then, there is sci-fi horror series Nightflyers kicking off on Netflix in December.
Keep up to date with all the latest movie news, click here to subscribe to Empire on Great Magazines and have the latest issue delivered to your door every month.