Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin has joined the production of an upcoming animated Hercules movie, in his latest extracurricular activity that’s not working on the long-awaited Winds of Winter.
Martin will serve as producer on the project, which will adapt the classic Greek tale of Hercules’ 12 labors, The Hollywood Reporter stated. Under the title of A Dozen Tough Jobs, the movie will retell events from the perspective of a farmer in 1920s Mississippi.
But while Martin is on producer duties, he won’t be spending time writing the film’s script. That responsibility goes to Joe R. Lansdale, whose bizarre novel Bubba Ho-Tep featured Elvis fighting an Egyptian Mummy.
“If anyone understands the power of epic stories and expansive franchises, it’s George R.R. Martin,” said David Steward II, boss of production company Lion Forge Entertainment.
“With A Dozen Tough Jobs, we’re reimagining a timeless legend through fresh, culturally rich lenses. This isn’t just a retelling — it’s a groundbreaking take, unlike anything audiences have seen before, grounded in history but pushing myth into uncharted territory.”
Winds of Winter, the next book in Martin’s long-running A Song of Ice and Fire series, still lacks a release date. Indeed, it’s now been almost 14 years since A Dance with Dragons arrived in July 2011.
The 76-year-old writer still plans for the long-awaited next entry to be followed by another, A Dream of Spring, to round off the series — something the Game of Thrones’ TV adaptation did not wait around for, albeit with mixed results.
But while readers wait, Martin has been keeping busy. The writer has been involved, to a greater and lesser degree, in several other Game of Thrones TV spin-offs, including the successful House of the Dragon, and fictional historical novels about the franchise’s world.
And, of course, Martin has dabbled with the world of video games, too — writing backstory for Elden Ring.
In September 2024, Martin admitted via his blog that “television projects ate up most of the first half” of last year, stopping him from writing more. So, when will Winds of Winter arrive? Not any time soon, Martin wrote as recently as last month.
In a post dated April 7, 2025, Martin complained he was “so tired of having to issue denials every time some offhand comment of mine, most having nothing to do with WINDS, somehow convinces half the internet that the book is imminent. It’s not. No”.
Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
