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George R.R. Martin Teases New Game of Thrones Ending

"People know an ending, but not the ending"

liam-mathews
Liam Mathews

Still sore about the way Game of Thrones ended? Well, George R.R. Martin may have you covered. The author of the Song of Ice and Fire novel series upon which the HBO show was based has teased a different ending than the one depicted on the show -- if he ever finishes writing the last two books, that is.

"People know an ending -- but not the ending," Martin told German newspaper Welt of his plans for the conclusion of the fantasy novels, as compared to Game of Thrones' divisive finale. The series famously outpaced the source material after Season 5, leaving co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss with the task of finishing the story of Westeros, with a brief list of three "holy sh--" moments provided by Martin. Martin was previously pretty cagey about whether his books' final stretch would align with the show, giving a "yes and no" answer to hypothetical questions about whether he'll keep the same ending.

As for whether fans will ever read "the ending," Martin told the same publication that he's still hard at work on the two final novels of the Song of Ice and Fire series, titled The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, but that has been the case for years. He is also currently helping to develop the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon and an adaptation of author Nnedi Okorafar's novel Who Fears Death for HBO. If that's not enough non-book-writing work filling his calendar, Martin is also currently helping to run a small movie theater in his hometown of Santa Fe.

Everything We Know About HBO's Game of Thrones Prequel, House of the Dragon

Speaking of movie theaters, in the same interview, Martin also revealed that he wanted a more cinematic end to Game of Thrones than what fans got with the final season, saying, "We actually considered [the movie] option. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss ... wanted to finish the saga with three big movies after Season 7." However, Martin claimed that it was the network's decision not to go that route. "HBO didn't want that. The executives said, 'We produce TV shows. We are not in the cinema business. And if HBO does make a movie, like the movie based on Deadwood, they only produce it to show it on TV, not on the big screen."

Of course, even if the format had been film, that still doesn't change the fact that Game of Thrones would've still been up to Benioff and Weiss to finish with their own direction, so perhaps the response might not have been much different. So, it's up to Martin to fix it -- but we'll have to wait and see if winter the books ever actually come out.

Game of Thrones Seasons 1-8 are currently available on HBO.

George R.R. Martin

George R.R. Martin

Liam McBurney - PA Images, PA Images via Getty Images