Game of Thrones Creator George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards Series Moves To Peacock From Hulu

The Wild Cards super hero universe of Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin is heading towards a new television destination. After two years in development at Hulu, the show is switching streaming services and will further develop at NBCUniveral's Peacock platform. The series adapts the long-running shared universe of superhero novels and short stories that Martin has edited and written for since 1987. According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBCUniversal quickly scooped up the series for its new streamer after Hulu passed on on the project last year. Universal Content Productions, which NBCUniversal owns, maintains the Wild Cards rights after acquiring them in 2016.

Andrew Miller was developing the series, and sources say that he and his team had penned scripts for seven episodes. Miller's contract with UCP has since expired, and he will not be involved with the project going forward. Martin and Melinda Snodgrass, who co-edits the Wild Cards books with Martin, are still aboard as executive producers. Hulu had reportedly considered Wild Cards a franchise with plans to launch multiple series. It's unclear if NBCUniversal views the property in the same light, though Martin stated this was UCP's plan when they first purchased the rights.

"Universal Cable Productions (UCP) has acquired the rights to adapt our long-running Wild Cards series of anthologies and mosaic novels for television," Martin wrote in a 2016 blog post. "Development will begin immediately on what we hope will be the first of several interlocking series."

The Wild Cards universe diverged from our timeline in 1946 when an alien virus spread throughout Earth's atmosphere over Manhattan. Those who contracted the "Wild Card" virus were affected in different ways.

"Of those infected, 90% died horribly, drawing the black queen, 9% were twisted and deformed into jokers, while a lucky 1% became blessed with extraordinary and unpredictable powers and became aces. The world was never the same," Martin wrote in that same blog post.

The idea for Wild Cards was born out of Martin's experience running the superhero-themed tabletop roleplaying game, Superworld. The first Wild Cards anthology was published in 1986 and nominated for a Hugo Award. The next book in the series, Joker Moon, releases in July.

While Martin and Snodgrass edit and curate the line, a group of writers called The Wild Cards Trust, consisting of more than 40 authors, have contributed to the series. Its membership includes Martin, X-Men legend Chris Claremont, Doctor Who writer Paul Cornell, the celebrated fantasy author Roger Zelazny, Saladin Ahmed, The Expanse creators Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham, and several others.

Are you excited about the Wild Cards universe moving to Peacock? Let us know in the comments. If you haven't signed up for Peacock yet, you can check out your subscription options right here.

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.