The new project from Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin is so much more than a set of wildly popular novels.

There’s a whole new universe on the way from the author of Game of Thrones. Photo: Supplied

He has announced on his blog that he has signed a deal with Universal Cable Productions for the rights to Wild Cards, a large, interconnected world of novels, comics and games all set in the same shared universe.

It has so many stories and characters, Martin argues that it rivals the stables of Marvel and DC.

George R.R.Martin’s alternate universe, Wild Cards, gets the green light for television. Photo: Supplied (George R.R.Martin)

The first Wild Cards novel was published in 1986, beginning in an alternate–reality history where an alien virus was released over Manhattan in 1946.

Most of those infected with the virus died horribly as a result of drawing the “black queen”. Nine percent became deformed and mutated into “jokers” and a fortunate one percent developed extraordinary powers and became “aces”.

However Martin will be hands off with the new deal as he is contracted to an exclusive development deal with HBO to write a new sci–fi series, The Winds of Winter.

Instead it will be overseen by his editor, author Melinda M. Snodgrass, who will be executive producer for the television series.

There are currently 22 published volumes in the Wild Card series, written by a stable of 30 authors know as the “Wild Cards Trust”.

The project is still in the early stages of development and has no release date yet.