Robert Baratheon's Rebellion Stage Play Could Either Ruin Or Save Game Of Thrones

George R. R. Martin once promised on his blog that he wouldn't write anything else until he finished his next "A Song of Ice and Fire" book, "The Winds of Winter." That was 10 years ago. In truth, he's been busier than ever since then, between pondering whether to kill fan-favorite "Game of Thrones" characters who survived the "Song of Ice and Fire" TV show adaptation, approving every change that "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" makes to his "Dunk and Egg" stories, feuding with the "House of the Dragon" showrunners, and developing stage plays.

That's right: Not content with the endless cavalcade of canceled "Game of Thrones" TV spin-offs, or the ones presumably still happening, Martin is now moving to the world of live theater. In his Not a Blog, he revealed that he's working with The Royal Shakespeare Company on "Game of Thrones: The Mad King." Written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Dominic Cooke, the stage play will serve as a prequel to "A Song of Ice and Fire." More specifically, it will tell the story of the great tourney at Harrenhal, which Martin's first "Song of Ice and Fire" book describes as a pivotal moment in Westeros history. Considered the greatest tourney of its time, this scandalous event brought together the great houses of Westeros and is considered the prelude to Robert's Rebellion.

This is, obviously, a huge story that's never been fully told before and promises to be full of twists and turns that paint other "Game of Thrones" projects in a whole new light. And yet, that itself begs the question: Why bring this story to life as a stage play that few fans will get to experience? Indeed, by being presented this way, "The Man King" could either ruin or save the franchise.

This could all go one of two ways. In the worst-case scenario, "The Mad King" might feel a little like "Stranger Things: The First Shadow," a play that explored "Stranger Things" big bad Vecna's backstory and was essential to understanding the show's final season. Except, most folks had no way of seeing the play before the final season of "Stranger Things" premiered (and a professionally filmed version of "The First Shadow" is only now coming to Netflix), so they ended up missing out on some crucial story details.

To be clear, the tourney at Harrenhal is not just some cool thing that happened prior to the events of "Game of Thrones." Really, it's the key to understanding the show's entire plot. To recap: The tourney ended with Prince Rhaegar Targaryen giving his favor to Lyanna Stark despite her being betrothed to another man and him being already married to another woman. A year later, Rhaegar was believed to have abducted Lyanna, which, in turn, incited Robert Baratheon to lead a larger rebellion against the realm's Targaryen rulers, nearly wiping them out and seizing the crown for himself. "Game of Thrones" has since revealed that Rhaegar and Lyanna were actually in love (with Kit Harington's Jon Snow being their son), but "The Mad King" could offer far more insight into the incident and characters that set this whole plot in motion.

At the same time, "Game of Thrones" is now in danger of being franchised to death, with every single detail of its story giving rise to a spin-off that's deemed necessary for understanding everything else. We already have George R.R. Martin's original books and multiple TV spin-offs (with even more in the works); isn't that enough homework already?

Mind you, that's not the only way of looking at this project. Alternatively, you could think of "The Mad Kind" as an unexpected gift to fans. Seriously, let's not kid ourselves: George R.R. Martin can promise he's making progress on "The Winds of Winter" all he wants, but who knows if he'll ever actually finish the "Song of Ice and Fire" novels. All the same, that shouldn't prevent folks from getting to learn more about the larger "Game of Thrones" universe and its history.

One of the stars of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" has already unintentionally spoiled a crucial plot point from Martin's upcoming works, so what's a few more spoilers? Yes, the author might be planning to reveal all there is to know about the Harrenhal tourney in "The Winds of Winter" or his final "Song of Ice and Fire" book, "A Dream of Spring," but at least we now know for certain we'll be getting those details thanks to "The Mad King." Besides, it's possible that Martin had only previously intended to tell this story in a companion book like "The World of Ice & Fire." Compared to that, a stage production — one developed by the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company, no less — is a much sweeter deal.

Perhaps Martin's fantasy world is simply too big for a single medium, and all that these spin-offs will really do is enrich it. If so, "The Mad King" could offer fans the chance to learn more about its history without having to wait an eternity for Martin to (maybe) finish his books.