‘Game of Thrones’ Creator George R.R. Martin Reveals If Season 8 Backlash Will Change His Books

Author George R.R. Martin gave a new interview with Entertainment Weekly on Monday, discussing how the finale of Game of Thrones might affect the ending of his novels, A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin’s books inspired the show, but they remain incomplete, with just five out of seven planned books on shelves. According to Martin, the ending will look the same as if the Iron Throne had never graced the small screen.

“I want to write the book I’ve always intended to write all along. And when it comes out they can like it or they can not like it,” Martin said firmly.

The 70-year-old author paraphrased a point he has made several times before, noting that it would be detrimental to the book if he were to change it just to avoid doing the same thing as the show, or subvert fans’ expectations.

“The Internet affects all this to a degree it was never affected before,” he said. “Like Jon Snow’s parentage. There were early hints about [who Snow’s parents were] in the books, but only one reader in 100 put it together.”

“And before the internet that was fine — for 99 readers out of 100 when Jon Snow’s parentage gets revealed it would be, ‘Oh, that’s a great twist!’ But in the age of the Internet, even if only one person in 100 figures it out then that one person posts it online and the other 99 people read it and go, ‘Oh, that makes sense.’”

Martin admitted that “there is a temptation to change” the story based on the books and the global fandom, especially after so many fan theorists have worked out big twists. However, he has decided that staying the course is his best option. Additionally, the author now has a firm personal policy about avoiding fan sites, for fear that they will influence his decision.

Martin also gave just a small tantalizing hint about which elements of the show came from his notes and which the showrunners came up with themselves.

“The whole last three years have been strange since the show got ahead of the books,” he says. “Yes, I told [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] a number of things years ago. And some of them they did do. But at the same time, it’s different.”

“I have very fixed ideas in my head as I’m writing The Winds of Winter and beyond that in terms of where things are going. It’s like two alternate realities existing side by side. I have to double down and do my version of it which is what I’ve been doing,” he added.

In a previous blog post, Martin wrote that The Winds of Winter would be “in my hands” by the summer of 2020. So far, no official release date is in place.