HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ may end before George R.R. Martin’s last book

It is likely that HBO will finish its “Game of Thrones” series before George R.R. Martin ends his epic fantasy novels, the “A Song of Ice and Fire” author himself said. For the author, it is okay if the HBO series’ final episode airs before he releases his last book.

During the Q&A at the recent Sasquan science fiction convention in Spokane, Wash., Martin read a chapter from “The Winds of Winter,” which is yet to be published. The character featured in the chapter, Princess Arianne of Dorne, does not even appear in the HBO series.

Martin told GeekWire that anything is possible considering that “Game of Thrones” is “moving forward like a locomotive, or sometimes a jet locomotive.” He explained that writers of the HBO series are writing 60-page scripts while he is writing 1,500-page novels.

About “Game of Thrones” producers Dan Weiss and David Benioff’s plan to do eight seasons of the HBO series, Martin said there was a period when he was worried but he realized that worrying does not change anything. He said he is just going to tell his story and they are telling their story and adapting his books.

Some plot twists in the “Game of Thrones” season 5 finale deviated from what has been laid out in Martin’s five books published. Characters who are still alive and in the running for the throne in Martin’s novel series were killed off including Kit Harington’s character Jon Snow.

Because of this, fans are expecting that “Game of Thrones” season 6 will deviate even further from the events in Martin’s “Winds of Winter” novel. New characters will be featured in the upcoming season including those that will be played by Ian McShane and Max von Sydow.

Recently, Art Parkinson and Natalia Tena, who played Rickon Stark and Osha Stark in the earlier seasons, were spotted in Belfast, where “Game of Thrones” is being filmed, according to Vanity Fair. This sparked rumors that they will reprise their roles in the upcoming season.

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