Now that George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones is a hit on HBO, other studios are vying for his previous works. Syfy Films, a joint union between the Syfy Channel and Universal Pictures, has picked up the rights to Martin's expansive superhero anthology Wild Cards for a big screen adaptation.

This book series was edited, co-created, and co-written by George R.R. Martin. Another co-writer of the series, Melinda M. Snodgrass, has been picked to write the screenplay. Both will serves as executive producers on Wild Cards.

The story, which spanned many different books all told in the same universe, revolves around an alien virus that has been unleashed over New York City. The survivors are split into two new classes of human beings: The Jokers, mutated and disfigured from the fallout, and The Aces, who have been endowed with super powers because of this tragedy.

The first book was published in 1987.

About this series of books, George R.R. Martin said this.

"We had a love of comics books and superheroes that we grew up on. But we approached the material differently. We wanted to do it in a grittier, more adult manner than what we were seeing in the '80s. It's something that many other people have been doing in the decades ever since."

At this time, it is not known which Jokers and which Aces will be featured in the movie. One character, though, is likely to make an appearance. The Sleeper was one of the first heroes introduced in the series, and has the ability to look like someone new every morning that he wakes up. The Sleeper's story may be one of the main points of narrative, hints George R.R. Martin.

Syfy Films will produce Wild Cards on a modest budget.