George R.R. Martin talks about the ending of ‘Game of Thrones’ and his upcoming plans for the final two books in his ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series…
George R.R. Martin hasn’t been as heavily involved in ‘Game of Thrones’ since the popular HBO series blew past his original material three seasons ago.
Still without Martin’s work there wouldn’t be a ‘Game of Thrones’ and he discusses his planned ending for his books with showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss a few years back as it became increasingly clear that the show was going to pass his source material sooner rather than later.
In the weeks leading up to the final season of ‘Game of Thrones’, Martin said that he expected the end of the TV series to be very similar to the one he has planned for his books but the route to get there would be dramatically different. In many cases, characters who were killed on ‘Game of Thrones’ still live on in Martin’s books not to mention additional characters who were never introduced on the show play an important part in his upcoming novels ‘The Winds of Winter’ and ‘A Dream of Spring’.
Martin addressed the end of ‘Game of Thrones’ in his blog following the finale while answering the main question comparing the way the show came to a close versus his upcoming books.
“How will it all end? I hear people asking. The same ending as the show? Different?” Martin wrote. “Well… yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes.
“I am working in a very different medium than David and Dan, never forget. They had six hours for this final season. I expect these last two books of mine will fill 3000 manuscript pages between them before I’m done… and if more pages and chapters and scenes are needed, I’ll add them. And of course the butterfly effect will be at work as well; those of you who follow this Not A Blog will know that I’ve been talking about that since season one.
“There are characters who never made it onto the screen at all, and others who died in the show but still live in the books… so if nothing else, the readers will learn what happened to Jeyne Poole, Lady Stoneheart, Penny and her pig, Skahaz Shavepate, Arianne Martell, Darkstar, Victarion Greyjoy, Ser Garlan the Gallant, Aegon VI, and a myriad of other characters both great and small that viewers of the show never had the chance to meet. And yes, there will be unicorns… of a sort…”
Martin has continuously addressed the frustration of his book readers about the delays in releasing ‘The Winds of Winter’, which is expected to be the sixth in the series of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’.
Martin promises he’s still hard at work on finishing the book, although he’s no longer going to speculate on a timeline for its release.
“I’m writing. Winter is coming, I told you, long ago… and so it is,” Martin said. “THE WINDS OF WINTER is very late, I know, I know, but it will be done. I won’t say when, I’ve tried that before, only to burn you all and jinx myself… but I will finish it, and then will come A DREAM OF SPRING.”
In addition to his books, Martin has several television projects in the works including the upcoming ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel series that has started production in Northern Ireland. That show takes place thousands of years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’ but Martin was an integral part of the creative team alongside Jane Goldman, who is set to serve as showrunner on the series.
