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In recent news, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin may not have told showrunners who would take the Iron Throne at the end of his fantasy novel.
The fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire began in 1996, and the most recent, Dance of the Dragons, was released in 2011. The last two books, The Winds of Winter and Dreams of Spring, are still in the writing process. Meanwhile, the highly popular HBO TV adaptation ended in 2019. After seven seasons of unprecedented success, its eighth and final season did not meet the expectations of some fans who wanted their favorite characters’ arcs to end a little differently.
But the failure of the last season doesn’t seem to diminish interest in the world of Game of Thrones as a whole, with several spin-offs currently on the way, including the House of the Dragon prequel. Martin is serving as executive producer on the series, which is part of a lucrative 5-year authoring contract to develop six HBO titles related to Game of Thrones. With Martin having so many other pursuits, many fans fear that he will never finish his A Song of Ice and Fire saga and we may never know the true ending.
Although Martin didn’t share much of his thoughts on the latest season of Game of Thrones, James Andrew Miller’s new book, Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers (according to WinterIsComing.net), quotes George Martin’s spokesperson Paul Haas, who claims Martin was disappointed on the HBO show in its later seasons. Haas also insists that Martin did not tell anyone who would take the Iron Throne at the end of his fantasy novel, which contradicts previous reports.
Haas’s claim contradicts previous ones cited by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Showrunners have previously said that the idea of Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) becoming ruler of Westeros came directly from Martin himself. This was also confirmed by George Martin himself when he said that the show’s finale is his finale, although they will differ slightly in the way they achieve that ending.
Martin has been in a quandary ever since HBO chronologically overtook his books, which in turn has also influenced fans’ perceptions of recent seasons. Martin insisted that the reaction of fans to the series will not affect his books, although the latest news may indicate that he will still slightly deviate from the original idea, since many did not like the fact that it was Bran who became king. Whether his saga will receive a different ending or not – we will not know soon enough.
