George R.R. Martin Is Teaming Up With Marvel For A New Project

In the collaboration of giants, Marvel Comics and Game of Thrones’s George R.R. Martin have teamed up to bring fans a brand new universe in the Marvel world, the science fiction series written by Martin, Wild Cards. And it looks like it will be pretty good fit for Marvel, to say the least.

The saga is set in a brand new world that has been altered by the emergence and rise of superpowers, something that Marvel is extremely well versed in. The majority of our fave Marvel films and superheroes, like Captain America and Black Widow, originated from Marvel Comics, with many of the new superheroes currently being introduced by Marvel Studios to the big screen first becoming known in comic book form.

Wild Cards is a three-decade old anthology series with over forty authors contributing pieces, with Marvel Comics adapting the Martin’s first Wild Cards book, which was originally released in 1987.

On the partnership with Marvel Comics, Martin said: “As my fans may already know, the Wild Cards World holds a special place in my heart, so to have the privilege of announcing that an industry titan like Marvel is going to produce the narrative from the beginning as a comic book brings me no end of joy.”

Game Of Thrones, the celebrated writer's most well-known franchise, completed its hugely successful and global run in 2019. HBO is currently producing spin-offs, such as House of the Dragon and Tales of Dunk and Egg, with House of the Dragon scheduled to premiere in 2022. Marvel fans won’t have to wait too long to delve into this vast new universe and its characters, but in the meantime here’s everything you need to know so far about this collab.

Wild Cards Plot

According to the Marvel Comics synopsis, Wild Cards tells the story of an “alternate history where Earth is home to super-powered individuals”. It follows that when a human is infected with an alien virus called Wild Card, they begin to experience a variety of symptoms. Whilst most humans are likely to be killed, which is referred to as “drawing the black queen”, those that survive are known as either “Jokers” or “Aces”. The “Jokers” are left with a mutated form of the virus, whereas “Aces” are people gifted with superpowers to be used for good or evil.

The limited comic book series, titled ‘The Drawing Of Cards” recruits the creative team of artist Mike Hawthorne (Daredevil, Immortal Hulk) and comic book writer Paul Cornell (Black Widow, Wolverine).

Wild Cards Release Date

Comic book fans can grab a copy of the first issue of Wild Cards - named ‘The Drawing of the Cards #1’ - at a local comic book shop from Jun. 1. And who knows, maybe we’ll be seeing the Wild Cards universe on our screens, too.