Game of Thrones' may rule forever with four new shows

'Game of Thrones' season 7 teaser puts a chill in the air

A teaser for season 7 of HBO's fantasy hit shows Cersei, Daenerys and Jon Snow approaching the Iron Throne to the strains of '90s indie hit "Sit Down" by James.

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If anyone was wondering why George R.R. Martin hasn't finished that next "Game of Thrones" book yet, he's probably been a little busy.

HBO announced on Wednesday that four -- count 'em, four -- series relating to the dragon-and-magic filled fantasy land are potentially on the way. No word yet on whether they'll be spin-offs, prequels, sequels or just shows set within the same world of "Game of Thrones."

"We've closed deals for four very talented writers to each explore different time periods of George R. R. Martin's vast and rich universe," HBO said in a statement. "There is no set timetable for these projects. We'll take as much or as little time as the writers need and, as with all our development, we will evaluate what we have when the scripts are in."

But the co-creators of the current show, which launches a seventh season July 16, will still concentrate on that project rather than jumping ship to the new offerings.

"(Creators) Dan Weiss and David Benioff continue to work on finishing up the seventh season and are already in the midst of writing and preparing for the eighth and final season," HBO's statement went on to say. "We have kept them up to date on our plans and they will be attached, along with George R. R. Martin, as executive producers on all projects. We will support them as they take a much deserved break from writing about Westeros once the final season is complete."

The four writers are Max Borenstein ("Kong: Skull Island"), Jane Goldman ("X-Men: Days of Future Past"), Brian Helgeland ("Legend", "A Knight's Tale") and Carly Wray ("The Leftovers"). Martin himself, the author who started the whole tangled tussle for the Iron Throne with his books, is listed along with Goldman and Wray as a writer on their series.