It seems harder to finish a book than slay a dragon for “Game of Thrones” creator, George R.R. Martin.
Today, Good Morning America shared some thoughts from the fantasy author about his opinions on the mega-popular HBO series’ infamously debated ending. It seems Martin debated it himself.
"My biggest issue there was when they began that series,” said Martin, “I had four books already in print, and the fifth one came out just as the series was starting in 2011. I had a five-book head start -- and these are gigantic books! I never thought they would catch up with me, but they did."
Martin further explained that once the show outpaced the plots of the five-book series, show runners had to take matters into their own hands over how the series would conclude.
Martin displayed a deft ability to not exactly blame the show’s writers -- who in fact wrote the majority of the later seasons that went past the five existing novels, due to the show’s popularity -- and puts the blame on himself not realizing how quickly the show would develop.
Once the show really barreled down the development hill, it got ahead of Martin’s vision, which apparently included a different ending, that he nevertheless did not reveal.
"I'm still working on the [next] book," Martin confessed. "But you'll see my ending when that comes out!"
That sixth book in the series, “The Winds of Winter,” does not yet have a release date. Martin already has plans for a seventh and possibly last book in the series. The fifth book, “A Dance with Dragons,” took the author six years to write. So don’t hold your dragon breath waiting for the next one.
"Looking back, I wish I'd stayed ahead of the books," he admitted.
Martin is hard at work on that sixth story, and this time he’s taking the extra care to get his vision across before, say, oh, a special sequel or what have you might get greenlit. And really, you know it will. Heck, there’s already a prequel series in the works.
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