Writers room for new Game Of Thrones spin-off shuts down amid US strike action

The writers room of a recently ordered Game Of Thrones prequel series has been shut down “for the duration” amid the ongoing Hollywood strike, George RR Martin has said.

The veteran US author said that despite not being in Los Angeles to join the picket lines, he was offering his “full and complete and unequivocal” support of the strikers.

The strike began last week after more than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) stopped working when their contract expired.

Among the major productions and ceremonies affected by the strike is A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, a new HBO prequel spin-off based on Martin’s The Hedge Knight novella series.

It follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg, in a period where the Iron Throne is still under Targaryen rule, before the events of the original Game Of Thrones series.

In a blog post on Sunday, Martin said that since starting in the industry in 1986, he had “never seen the Guild so united as it is now”.

“The writers room on A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight has closed for the duration,” he wrote.

“(Writer) Ira Parker and his incredible staff of young talents are on the picket lines.”

He added: “There are pickets in front of every studio lot and sound stage in LA, and many in other cities as well. Get used to them. I expect they will be there for a long time.

“I am not in LA, so I cannot walk a picket line as I did in 1988, but I want to go on the record with my full and complete and unequivocal support of my Guild.

Recalling previous industry strikes, he wrote: “I have been through several of these since I first started writing for television and film in 1986.

“The 1988 strike, the first I was a part of, lasted 22 weeks, the longest in Hollywood history. The 2007-2008 strike, the most recent, went for 100 days.

“This one may go longer. The issues are more important… and I have never seen the Guild so united as it is now.”

Martin assured fans that the second series of House Of The Dragon, which has already begun filming, would not be affected by the strike as the scripts had been finished “months ago”.