I would assume only one or maybe two will actually get picked up.
http://www.avclub.com/article/hbo-d...medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
There's no details currently about what they are about, but here's my educated guesses ranked by percentage of likelihood that they are one of the 4 being worked on from most likely to least likely.
1) Dunk and Egg series. Set before and during the last Blackfyre rebellion which is the last unsuccessful uprising against the ruling Targaryen, there are a number of novellas written by GRRM about this time period and following two principal characters (a gargantuan good hearted by somewhat dimwitted jumped up commoner "hedge knight" and his squire who just happens to be the disguised future Targaryen king). GRRM wrote this purposefully as an easier to bring to television spinoff as it follows just a few central characters. So I would almost guarantee this is one of the four.
2) Robert's Rebellion. Stepping back just a decade or two before the start of the current series, this would focus on the successful rebellion by Robert Barratheon and Ned Stark against the Targs. This would seem a no brainer to try to bring to life as there is little to no magic (so no need for expensive special effects) BUT you can bring back Sean Bean and a bunch of now beloved actors from the first couple of seasons of the current series IF you're willing to CGI them younger (which is getting cheaper). Or you can go with younger lookalike characters, but regardless people are going to be interested in a direct prequel series to uncover the "truths" of Robert's Rebellion and how "right" it was. I would also almost guarantee this is one of the four.
3) Dance of the Dragons. A pretty fleshed out (as GRRM details it in his "history" book on Westeros and in two novellas) much earlier time period where two warring factions of Targs in a civil war are fighting in a time when there are several adult dragons on both sides. A very interesting bit of fiction (which I highly rec to fans to read the two novellas), but it could be very expensive to film as it would be CG heavy. So even though this is probably the MOST ready to go time period for a spinoff other than Dunk and Robert's Rebellion, I wouldn't consider this one a foregone conclusion.
4) Long Night. Jumping WAY back in time, before even the first Targaryen conquering of Westeros with dragons, this is the main confrontation between the First Men and both the Children of the Forest and the White Walkers together and separately. There had been a long running war of extinction between the First Men (Stark ancestors) who brought steel weapons and armors over to Westeros and the Children who were physically much smaller and had only stone, wood, obsidian and bronze weapons and armor but had a great deal of magic. As the Children were losing, their best magicians created the first White Walkers. The Children eventually lost control of the White Walkers who threatened all living humanoids, so the remaining Children and First Men allied against the White Walkers. This would show the creation of the Night Watch and the building of the Wall. It would be quite interesting and while not as fleshed out as the Dance of Dragons period, it would probably be slightly cheaper as there is plenty of magic but not nearly as many detailed dragon fighting scenes which would be CGI heavy.
5) A spinoff set in the future. Obviously the current series will end in some climactic fashion but it doesn't mean every character's story is at an end. Some fans would probably appreciate a continuation, I would prefer something set in a previous time period.
6) Original Targaryen Invasion. There's plenty of interesting stories here about how a small fleeing (as their homeland was destroyed in a Cataclysm) band of Targs and there handful of dragons managed to conquer all of Westeros, taking down fierce kingdoms of all sorts that end up being the progenitors of a lot of the current time period houses (Stark, Tyrell, Lannister, Ironborn, etc).
http://www.avclub.com/article/hbo-d...medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
There's no details currently about what they are about, but here's my educated guesses ranked by percentage of likelihood that they are one of the 4 being worked on from most likely to least likely.
1) Dunk and Egg series. Set before and during the last Blackfyre rebellion which is the last unsuccessful uprising against the ruling Targaryen, there are a number of novellas written by GRRM about this time period and following two principal characters (a gargantuan good hearted by somewhat dimwitted jumped up commoner "hedge knight" and his squire who just happens to be the disguised future Targaryen king). GRRM wrote this purposefully as an easier to bring to television spinoff as it follows just a few central characters. So I would almost guarantee this is one of the four.
2) Robert's Rebellion. Stepping back just a decade or two before the start of the current series, this would focus on the successful rebellion by Robert Barratheon and Ned Stark against the Targs. This would seem a no brainer to try to bring to life as there is little to no magic (so no need for expensive special effects) BUT you can bring back Sean Bean and a bunch of now beloved actors from the first couple of seasons of the current series IF you're willing to CGI them younger (which is getting cheaper). Or you can go with younger lookalike characters, but regardless people are going to be interested in a direct prequel series to uncover the "truths" of Robert's Rebellion and how "right" it was. I would also almost guarantee this is one of the four.
3) Dance of the Dragons. A pretty fleshed out (as GRRM details it in his "history" book on Westeros and in two novellas) much earlier time period where two warring factions of Targs in a civil war are fighting in a time when there are several adult dragons on both sides. A very interesting bit of fiction (which I highly rec to fans to read the two novellas), but it could be very expensive to film as it would be CG heavy. So even though this is probably the MOST ready to go time period for a spinoff other than Dunk and Robert's Rebellion, I wouldn't consider this one a foregone conclusion.
4) Long Night. Jumping WAY back in time, before even the first Targaryen conquering of Westeros with dragons, this is the main confrontation between the First Men and both the Children of the Forest and the White Walkers together and separately. There had been a long running war of extinction between the First Men (Stark ancestors) who brought steel weapons and armors over to Westeros and the Children who were physically much smaller and had only stone, wood, obsidian and bronze weapons and armor but had a great deal of magic. As the Children were losing, their best magicians created the first White Walkers. The Children eventually lost control of the White Walkers who threatened all living humanoids, so the remaining Children and First Men allied against the White Walkers. This would show the creation of the Night Watch and the building of the Wall. It would be quite interesting and while not as fleshed out as the Dance of Dragons period, it would probably be slightly cheaper as there is plenty of magic but not nearly as many detailed dragon fighting scenes which would be CGI heavy.
5) A spinoff set in the future. Obviously the current series will end in some climactic fashion but it doesn't mean every character's story is at an end. Some fans would probably appreciate a continuation, I would prefer something set in a previous time period.
6) Original Targaryen Invasion. There's plenty of interesting stories here about how a small fleeing (as their homeland was destroyed in a Cataclysm) band of Targs and there handful of dragons managed to conquer all of Westeros, taking down fierce kingdoms of all sorts that end up being the progenitors of a lot of the current time period houses (Stark, Tyrell, Lannister, Ironborn, etc).
