A New ‘Game of Thrones’ Targaryen Project Is Coming This Year, But Not to Television

A new story in the Game of Thrones universe is coming, but it's not a new TV show. And it's not a book, either—you'll have to keep waiting for The Winds of Winter. Instead, A Song of Ice and Fire is headed to the theater. The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced the production dates for Game of Thrones: The Mad King, a play about the Targaryen ruler whose insanity and cruelty led to the rebellion that set the stage for the acclaimed HBO series. 

The Mad King will premiere at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon on July 20 and run through September 5. Adapted from George R.R. Martin's novels by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke, the show will tell the story of the final years of King Aerys II Targaryen's rule. 

Who Is the Mad King?

Viewers of the HBO series never saw Aerys, though he loomed large over the events. The father of Daenerys Targaryen, Aerys was the final Targaryen king to sit on the iron throne. Though ambitious and bold in his youth, as he grew older he was plagued by madness which eventually prompted Robert's Rebellion as many of the Seven Kingdoms rose up against King's Landing. 

Presumably, some characters who were around in the show, like Robert Baratheon and Ser Jaime "The Kingslayer" Lannister, will appear in the play alongside other figures from Westerosi history, like Rhaegar Targaryen. 

"This production brings together some of theater’s most visionary talents to reimagine George R. R. Martin’s world for the stage," RSC co-artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said in a statement. "In a bold new configuration of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, audiences will find themselves at the very heart of the action — immersed in the intrigue and theatrical spectacle that promises to make this production truly epic. It’s an ambitious and exhilarating collaboration, and we can’t wait to welcome audiences into this extraordinary experience.”

The full creative team includes puppetry directors, though anybody hoping to see a giant dragon on the stage should remember that at this point in Westerosi history, all the dragons are dead thanks to the events of The Dance of Dragons as depicted in House of the Dragon. Daenerys' dragon eggs won't hatch until several years after the events of The Mad King. 

Plenty More Game of Thrones Spin-Offs Are Coming to Television

Game of Thrones fans will have to get themselves to England to see this tale (though it seems quite possible the show will tour at some point in the future). However, there are still plenty of stories set in Westeros coming to the screen. 

Season 3 of House of the Dragon will debut on HBO this summer, and a sophomore season of the lower-key spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is now filming. Several other shows are reportedly in development including an adaptation of Aegon's Conquest of Westeros that might be a movie, an animated series about the Sea Snake Corlys Velaryon's Nine Voyages, and a sequel about Jon Snow that would have Kit Harington reprising his role.

And, of course, Martin is supposedly working on finishing the A Song of Ice and Fire books…