George R.R. Martin says a new television series based on his anthology Wild Cards could represent a universe as “large, diverse and exciting” as the Marvel and DC comic worlds.

Martin – whose epic fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire was converted into television hit Game of Thrones – announced on his blog that the television rights to Wild Cards had been sold. 

Universal Cable Productions bought the rights – the same production company responsible for Suits, Monk, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Royal Pains.

“Development will begin immediately on what we hope will be the first of several interlocking series,” Martin wrote. “I cross my fingers that the Wild Cards will be coming to your home screens in the next year or two.”

Wild Cards is a series of science fiction works, partially written and all edited by Martin, first published in 1987.

The series follows characters in an alternate post-World War Two history of the United States.

The original Wild Cards’ covers. Photo: Not A Blog

In the Wild Cards universe an alien virus was dropped over New York City on September 15, 1946. It then spread over Earth, killing 90 per cent of those infected.

Another 9 per cent of those infected became deformed and known as ‘Jokers’, while the other 1 per cent were known as ‘Aces’. The ‘Aces’ received “extraordinary and unpredictable” powers as a result of being infected by the virus.

As of November 2014 there were 22 books in the Wild Cards series. Thirty authors have contributed to the anthology.

‘Grittier, more realistic’ than Marvel and DC

Martin described Wild Cards as “as large and exciting as the comic book universes of Marvel and DC, though somewhat grittier, and considerably more realistic and more consistent.

“There are thousands of stories to be told in the world of the Wild Cards.”

Martin said he would not be a writer on the television adaption of Wild Cards, like he was on Game of Thrones.

“I won’t be working on the series myself,” he revealed. “My own development deal is exclusive to HBO, and I am writing The Winds of Winter, as I believe most of you will recall, but I have every confidence in Melinda Snodgrass and Gregory Noveck.”

The Wild Cards’ tv adaption won’t involve Martin. Photo: Not A Blog

Snodgrass has edited and written Wild Cards with Martin since its inception, while Noveck is a producer and production manager who produced Red (2010) and Jeremiah (2002-2004).

Both will be executive producers on the Wild Cards adaption.

Game of Thrones has broken numerous television records since it debuted in 2011.

The season six finale was the most watched show in Australian subscription television history, while its biggest one-day audience figure in the United States is 8.9 million people.

In comparison, the finale of the first Game of Thrones season was watched by 3 million people in the US, according to Nielsen.

HBO recently announced Game of Thrones would end after eight seasons.

Season seven is expected to be comprised of seven episodes, set to air in mid-2017.