Game of Thrones ended in a swath of controversy and disappointment seven years ago. Since then, fans have been wondering if A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin's book series that Game of Thrones was based on, would end the same way.
In a recent interview at Oxford Union, Martin was asked about the Game of Thrones ending and reassured fans that A Song of Ice and Fire will not end the same way the television show did in the spring of 2019.
"I have said in other places, but I'll just repeat it here. No, the books are not going to end that way," Martin said. "They're not."
The audience, who had just chuckled during the question, applauded and cheered Martin's answer before he continued.
"Someone asked me upstairs, do I have any regrets? And, I thought of one regret, but yeah, the main regret I have is the books aren't done yet. I still have two done, and honestly, I really never thought that would happen. By the time we sold these books to HBO, I had four books already published, and I was making a lot of progress on the fifth book."
George R.R. Martin refuses to criticize the Game of Thrones final season — because it would spoil the upcoming books
In the interview, Martin was also asked, if he could, provide "constructive criticism" about the show's final season, but Martin turned down the opportunity because it would spoil his own plans for the ending.
"I really can't answer that without giving away what I'm planning," Martin said.
Over the years, Martin has been very open about the end of Game of Thrones and how the ending of his book series will be different. Clearly, it doesn't serve Martin to offer specifics of how and why the ending will differ, but hopefully, readers and fans will find out in due time.
Looking back at the Game of Thrones finale and final season, overall, I do think some of the criticism of David Benioff and D.B. Weiss was overblown. Clearly, overtaking Martin's book series and finishing before The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring were actually finished complicated matters. It's also just hard to wrap up a huge, expansive series like Game of Thrones the way that they tried to do it. They deserve a lot of credit for bringing such an epic story to life in a different medium and capturing the hearts of fans around the world. With that said, it's also fair for fans, and Martin himself, obviously, to feel let down by the ending and want it to be better. Both things can be true.
Ahead of the premiere of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is based on Martin's novellas about Dunk and Egg, Martin also opened up about the challenges of finishing The Winds of Winter, the sixth book of A Song of Ice and Fire.
It's been 15 years since A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book of the series, was published, and there's still no release date or timeline for The Winds of Winter, which has been a source of frustration for some readers. Those frustrations have boiled over at conventions and online, with fans calling for Martin to tap in other authors to finish his book series should he not be able to do so. Obviously, Martin shot that idea down.
Ultimately, I think I speak for a lot of fans when I say that I'm just hopeful that Martin is able to take the time to finish the book series the way he wants. I can't possibly imagine the pressure he's been under over the last decade and a half since Game of Thrones premiered. Hopefully, the wait for The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring will be over soon.