Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin recently sat down for an interview with WTTW Chicago where he stated that the show began taking “somewhat different directions” once it advanced past his source material.
Martin spoke to WTTW Chicago while he received an honorary doctorate from Northwestern University.
In the interview, Martin states, “It changed my life in mostly good ways, although, you know, looking back I wished I had stayed ahead of the books.”
He continued, “My biggest issue there was when they began that series 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 as you know, as you’ve seen them. I never thought they would catch up with me. But they did. They caught up with me and passed me,” Martin added,
“And that made it a little strange. Now, the show was ahead of me and the show was going in somewhat different directions. So, I’m still working on the book, but you’ll see my ending when that comes out,” the author concluded.
Martin previously claimed the show’s ending would not affect the ending he is planning in his books.
He told The Guardian back in 2019, “No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t change anything at all… As Rick Nelson says in Garden Party, one of my favourite songs, you can’t please everybody, so you’ve got to please yourself.”
However, he did also claimed back then that the endings were similar. He explained, “They’re not the same thing, although they are very closely related to each other.”
As for when A Song of Ice and Fire readers can expect the next installment, The Winds of Winter, Martin did not provide an update.
The author previously failed to meet his own deadline. He claimed the book would be available by the World Science Fiction Convention in the summer of 2020.
He stated at the time, “But I tell you this — if I don’t have THE WINDS OF WINTER in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I’m done. Just so long as the acrid fumes do not screw up my old DOS word processor, I’ll be fine.”
Related: Game of Thrones Creator George R.R. Martin Attacks His Own Fans As “Internet Assholes”
After that date came and went, Martin decided to lash out at people who actually believed he would keep his promise.
In an update on his blog, Martin wrote, “I will make no predictions on when I will finish. Every time I do, assholes on the internet take that as a “promise,” and then wait eagerly to crucify me when I miss the deadline. All I will say is that I am hopeful.”
What do you make of Martin’s recent comments? What kind of differences do you expect from Martin’s novels? Do you think he will actually finish the novel series?