Syfy has just released an official teaser trailer for their adaptation of George R. R. Martin's Nightflyers. Although very little footage is revealed, it's clear that this universe is far from the dragon and White Walker-infested world of Westeros in Game of Thrones.

Though American novelist George R. R. Martin has been writing professionally for roughly 40 years, the work for which he is best known is A Song of Ice and Fire, his epic fantasy series which was adapted into the award-winning HBO television series Game of Thrones. In fact, through his novels, short stories, and even sole children's book titled The Ice Dragon, the genre with which readers most associate him is fantasy. That said, Martin has delved into several other genres, including science fiction. And it's within this genre that he wrote and published the novella titled Nightflyers, about a team of scientists in 2093 exploring space to discover new life forms, only to discover that no one onboard is safe. Now, Syfy is adapting Nightflyers into a brand new 10-epside TV series starring Jodie Turner-Smith, Gretchen Mol, and Eoin Macken.

Though there is no official premiere date for Nightlfyers, Syfy has just released a new teaser trailer. With very little in way of plot, the teaser individually showcases some of its main characters walking through the titular ship. Lights are flickering, the atmosphere is decidedly bleak, and there appears to be someone or something stalking the crew. Various flashes of text on the screen remind audiences that this is "from the mind of George R. R. Martin," while also hinting at the horror undertones. Other flashes of text explain that the characters in this show "can't escape from what's inside," not only hinting at the physical threats aboard the ship, but the collective mental insanity putting them all at risk.


While Nightflyers was originally published as a novella, Martin later revisited the universe, titled "The Thousand Worlds", expanding it into a collection of short stories and novels. And though the film adaptation in 1987 borrows from the original novella, mostly ignoring the subsequent entries, it's unclear how much of the expanded universe the new Syfy series will take inspiration from.

Expanded universes are no stranger to the current film and television landscape, so it will be interesting to see how far the show's creators plan on delving into Nightflyers' deeper world. The superhero genre is tackling this approach with the MCU and DCEU, Stephen King's expanded universe was depicted in last summer's The Dark Tower, and even the Conjuring series from Warner Bros is toying with this approach with connected movies like Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, and the upcoming The Nun.