Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss are readying for life after the conclusion of the wildly popular series. They will create the drama series Confederate for HBO, the network that produces and distributes Game of Thrones. The series imagines an alternate history of the Civil War, says The Hollywood Reporter.
According to an official description by HBO, ““Confederate” chronicles the events leading to the Third American Civil War. The series takes place in an alternate timeline, where the southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, giving rise to a nation in which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution. The story follows a broad swath of characters on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Demilitarized Zone ― freedom fighters, slave hunters, politicians, abolitionists, journalists, the executives of a slave-holding conglomerate and the families of people in their thrall.”
Benioff and Weiss will write the project along with other collaborators. Production will begin after the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones in 2018 or 2019.
HBO is not going to let go of the tremendous cultural capital built around the adaptation of George RR Martin’s novels. At least four different spinoffs from the Game of Thrones universe are being planned. “Each of the four projects will explore different time periods of Martin’s sprawling world of Westeros,” said another report in The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s unclear where any of the four fall in the show’s universe — meaning they could be prequels, sequels or spinoffs.”
The announcement of the Confederate series has already sparked off a row, with several observers questioning the logic of pursuing an alternate history at a time when the country is riven by social divisions.
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