There's no denying that all Game of Thrones fans couldn't be more excited for House of the Dragon season 3 to make its premiere on HBO this summer. It's been a long time coming for the prequel series to return with new episodes, and that wait is getting closer and closer to ending. However, recent comments from author George R.R. Martin ever so slightly deflated our expectations.
Martin sat down with The Hollywood Reporter for a lengthy profile, in which he discussed everything from the status of The Winds of Winter to the long-teased Jon Snow spinoff series to even his strained (to put it lightly) relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal. He gave more insight than ever about how things went south between and what that means for season 3.
It's no secret that House of the Dragon has deviated from Martin's books before by changing certain events and characters in ways that obviously frustrated fans. New comments from the author in The Hollywood Reporter suggests that season 3 will diverge from the events and characterizations in the books so much that Martin allegedly stated in a meeting with HBO: "This is not my story any longer."
Martin didn't reveal this development to THR, though a source close to the production explained that a Zoom call between Martin, Condal, producers, and executive producers to discuss the vision for season 3 further created a division between the author and showrunner. After hearing what Condal had in the works for the forthcoming season, that's when Martin expressed his defeat that the television adaptation was deviating from his works.
"I can’t talk about it," Martin said to THR about the rift and differences regarding the direction of season 3. But the author opened up a bit more about the past, including when his working relationship with Condal actually worked and how and when it fell apart. Martin worked closely with Condal on season 1, but as Martin tells it, Condal "basically stopped listening to me" in season 2.
We know that Martin previously spoke about his season 2 frustrations in a blog post that was ultimately deleted (and meant as the first of six posts airing his grievances). We can only hope that Martin will have an opportunity to speak honestly about how he feels about House of the Dragon season 3 once it begins airing because fans will almost definitely be speaking out on his behalf.
Naturally, it's currently unclear exactly what will be changed from page to screen in season 3, though diehard fans surely have a few theories based on the various set leaks that came out during filming. Whether it's complete departures from the actual story or a bunch of minor changes that add up to a wholly different experience, straying from Martin's books will 100 percent be felt by readers.
Some changes in screen adaptations of books are natural. Everything can't reasonably fit into a movie or show, and other details have to shift in order to make more sense for a visual medium. You can't begrudge every little change, but the big ones have an impact in a world as rich as the one Martin built. We'll have to wait until this summer if any other characters have been cut.