George R. R. Martin’s ‘Wild Cards’ Optioned for the Big Screen

Oct 30, 2014

While having a property picked up is never any guarantee a film will ever hit theaters, and this property has been optioned before, it’s a good bet Wild Cards has a better chance than most to see the light of day due to the anthology’s editor and writer George R. R. Martin’s success with Game of Thrones. While shared world anthologies were all the rage in the fantasy world back in the 1980s, Wild Cards was one of the few which has stood the test of time. With the twenty second volume in the series, Lowball, set for publication in November.

The Hollywood Reporter has an exclusive stating Syfy Films (a joint venture between Syfy Channel and Universal formed in 2010) acquired the film rights for the Wild Card series with Martin’s fellow co-creator and writer Melinda Snodgrass helming the screenplay. No mention on what characters we could see on the screen since a multitude of authors have contributed to the series throughout the years including Roger Zelazny, Walter Jon Williams, Chris Claremont, and John J. Miller (to name just a few) alongside Martin and Snodgrass. Or, in other words, to bring readers’ favorite characters to the screen there are going to be a lot of slices of the pie to be handed out.

For those unfamiliar with the Wild Card series, the setting is that of a world populated by Aces (those who have gained extraordinary powers) and Jokers (others who have been physically or mentally deformed) through exposure to an alien virus released over New York City in 1946. Of those exposed 90% die, 9% become Jokers, and the remaining 1% become Aces. What paces the Wild Card series apart from some run of the mill superhero tale is not only the setting but also plenty of real world personalities and events intertwine with the fictional exploits of the characters. The fact there’s a heavy dose of action and violence, along with some sex, also makes Wild Cards something folks wouldn’t normally be exposed to at the local comic shop.

Personally I’d love to Wild Cards become a film franchise since, when I originally read the series as the books were coming out, my mind’s eye could always see the action as if it were on the big screen. If you haven’t read the series I can highly recommend starting from the beginning. Although the story arcs aren’t as topical as when the books were originally published, the series is still a solid action packed romp sure to entertain. Plus, it makes me smile knowing Wild Cards originated as a long running Superworld campaign Martin ran at his home in Albuquerque for his fellow literary pals.

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Jeff McAleer

Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...