Helen Sloan/HBO

If you’ve been jonesing for an epic fantasy to help fill the gap between Peter Jackson‘s “Lord of the Rings” movies and the maybe-someday remake of “Dune,” HBO may have just rolled the saving throw you needed.

On Tuesday, the cable channel announced that it had officially ordered “Game of Thrones,” a new series based on George R. R. Martin‘s “Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy novels. The best-selling book franchise, which began in 1996 with “A Game of Thrones,” chronicles the dynastic conflicts among several families on the mythical continent of Westeros.

The principal cast of the HBO series, which will run 10 episodes, features no less than 17 cast members, including Mark Addy, Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Jennifer Ehle, Iain Glen and Lena Headey, as well as Tamzin Merchant (of “Pride and Prejudice”) as the heroine Daenerys Targaryen.

HBO said that the pilot episode of the series was written by David Benioff (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) and D.B. Weiss (the author of “Lucky Wander Boy”), who are also among its executive producers. Production on the series is to begin in Belfast in June; a premiere date has not yet been set. Meanwhile, Mr. Martin should have plenty of time to finish writing the last two books in what he has said is a seven-book series.