'Game of Thrones': George R.R. Martin Breaks Silence on Rumor HBO Made Him Delay His Final Books

Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin blasted an online rumor that he finished the rest of the A Song of Ice And Fire series, but HBO told him to hold off on publishing the last two books.

In a blog post, Martin said he would usually ignore such rumors and stories, but this was one of those occasions that "gains an improbable currency, and just chuckling at the insanity no longer suffices."

Martin went on to insist the books The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring have not been finished yet. He said he has not even started writing A Dream of Spring, his planned seventh and final book in the series, since he has not finished The Winds of Winter.

"It seems absurd to me that I need to state this," Martin wrote. "The world is round, the Earth revolves around the sun, water is wet… do I need to say that too? It boggles me that anyone would believe this story, even for an instant. It makes not a whit of sense."

He continued, "Why would I sit for years on completed novels? Why would my publishers — not just here in the US, but all around the world — ever consent to this? They make millions and millions of dollars every time a new Ice & Fire book comes out, as do I. Delaying makes no sense. Why would HBO want the books delayed? The books help create interest in the show, just as the show creates interest in the books."

Martin said HBO and Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have not asked him to delay the books.

"I assure you, HBO and David [and] Dan would both have been thrilled and delighted if THE WINDS OF WINTER had been delivered and published four or five years ago… and NO ONE would have been more delighted than me," he concluded. "I have said it before: don't believe everything you read on the internet. Except here, of course."

The rumor that Martin already finished the last two books in the series resurfaced on Collider, which published comments made by actor Ian McElhinney during a convention panel in April 2019. McElhinney played Barristan Selmy, who was killed off back in Season 5.

McElhinney claimed Martin "struck an agreement" with Weiss and Benioff to not release the novels until the show is finished.

"So if all goes well, in another month or two we might get Books 6 and 7, and I'm intrigued to know how Barristan, for instance, ends up going through those final two books," McElhinney said, referring to the fact that his character was not killed off in the books.

McElhinney previously said he was really surprised his character died so early in the show since Barristan is a major advisor for Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) in the novels.

"It proves you should probably not read the books. I've read the books," McElhiney told Entertainment Weekly back in 2015. "So I thought this season I was going to have more to do, and I was really looking forward to that."

The Game of Thrones series finale airs on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

Photo credit: HBO