George R.R. Martin Shares Update on Next ‘Significantly Different’ ‘Game of Thrones’ Book

This year looks to be a big one for George R. R. Martin and his fans. Not only will fans see the return of the Game of Thrones spinoff prequel House of the Dragon, based on his book Fire and Blood, for a third season, but the author can also look forward to another Thrones adjacent series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas, debuting on Sunday, January 18.

Together, these expansions of his world mark one of the most ambitious stretches of Westeros storytelling in years.

Despite a lot of Thrones in the pipeline, what fans really want is a proper ending to Game of Thrones.

Fans of Martin have long awaited the continuation of the A Song of Ice and Fire saga in the final two planned novels, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. Since the release of the previous novel, A Dance with Dragons, was published in 2011, the wait has been almost 15 years and counting, with no official release date yet.

HBO

It was a major sticking point back when Thrones was airing on HBO, and the series eventually surpassed the existing books. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had to take the characters beyond Martin’s published material, and the reception to their version of the story was decidedly mixed, with many fans and critics questioning narrative and character choices in the final seasons.

Some vocal viewers felt that once the adaptation outpaced the source, the show’s quality declined, particularly in the final episodes that saw Daenerys (Emilia Clark) transform into the “Mad Queen” who destroyed much of King’s Landing, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) being forced to kill Daenerys and sent back to the Night’s Watch, and Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) named king, thus winning the game of thrones.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Martin discussed the long-awaited “proper” ending to his A Song of Ice and Fire saga, making it clear that what he has in mind will be quite different from what fans saw on screen.

“[The book’s ending is] going to be significantly different,” Martin says. “Some characters who are alive in my book are going to be dead in the show, and vice versa.”

Macall B. Polay/courtesy of HBO

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However, according to the author, several story details are still up in the air. Still, Martin did have a few ideas, and it’s bad news for a few fan favorite characters that were spared in the show.

“I was going to kill more people,” he told THR. “Not the ones they killed [in the show]. They made it more of a happy ending. I don’t see a happy ending for Tyrion. His whole arc has been tragic from the first. I was going to have Sansa die, but she’s been so appealing in the show, maybe I’ll let her live…”

As for when the Ice and Fire saga will finally finish? “I have to write more Dunk and Egg. There’s supposed to be another Fire and Blood book, too. I do think if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon. It’s been made clear to me that Winds is the priority, but… I don’t know. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for that.”

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Series Premiere, Sunday, January 18, 10/9c, HBO, Streaming on HBO Max

House of the Dragon, Season 3 Premiere, Summer 2026, HBO