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Bad news, A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) fans. Your long-suspected fears have finally come to fruition: author George R.R. Martin has finally admitted he doubts he will finish the long-awaited next book in the series. Martin has been working on The Winds of Winter, the sixth and final book in the series, for over a decade following the publication of A Dance with Dragons in 2011.
After years of delays, missed deadlines, and denials, George R.R. Martin is finally getting realistic about the novel’s publication, admitting that he’s now 13 years late and “doesn’t know” if he’ll ever finish the long-awaited Game of Thrones entry.
Martin, 76 years old, has spent recent years on an executive producer on projects such as House of the Dragon (although he’s been quite critical of HBO’s handling of the series) and Dark Winds, while also writing the video game (primarily the world building) for the accalimed video game Elden Ring.
“Unfortunately, I am 13 years late. Every time I say that, I’m [like], ‘How could I be 13 years late?’ I don’t know, it happens a day at a time. But that’s still a priority, and I do hope to visit it. A lot of people are already writing obituaries for me. [They’re saying] ‘Oh, he’ll never be finished.’ Maybe they’re right. I don’t know. I’m alive right now! I seem pretty vital!” Martin told The Hollywood Reporter.
Martin’s failure to publish The Winds of Winter is just the latest staggering failure of the Game of Thrones franchise, which was one of the biggest in the world five or six years ago, but has since fallen out o the general pop cultural consciousness due to the largely reviled final season.
While House of the Dragon has been a success for HBO, the series has been nowhere near as popular as Game of Thrones, with many fans also feeling the second season was a major step down from the first.