George R.R. Martin's anthology series Wild Cards is in development for television at Universal.
The author announced the news in a blog post on Saturday, Aug. 6. He said he won't be involved with the project because of an exclusive development deal with HBO. His assistant editor, Melinda Snodgrass, however, is an executive producer with Gregory Noveck.
Snodgrass has written for the Wild Cards series as well as co-developed it with Martin. She has also written for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Noveck was senior vice president of creative affairs at DC Comics before becoming a producer. He has been involved with this project since 2011, according to Deadline.
"...I have every confidence in Melinda Snodgrass and Gregory Noveck," Martin said. "They know and love the Wild Cards universe almost as well as I do, and I think they will do a terrific job. Wish them luck."
Martin hopes the show will be available "in the next year or two."
Wild Cards follows a world where an alien virus plagues humans and mutates them. 1% of humans that contract the virus get superpowers, and 9 percent receive paralyzing effects. The 1 percent are the "Aces" and the 9 percent are the "Jokers." Meanwhile, the other 90 percent get the disease die.
The first Wild Cards story came out in 1987. The most recent book, "Discards," came out back last March.