Fans have always had the pleasure of Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin penning an episode for each season of the show. He recently announced on his blog, however, that he will be opting out of seasons five and six to focus on Winds of Winter, the sixth novel in the series.
The author made his decision “after wrestling with it for a month or so,” saying his “energies are best devoted to WINDS.”
“Writing a script takes me three weeks, minimum, and longer when it is not a straight adaptation from the novels,” Martin wrote. “And really, it would cost me more time than that, since I have never been good at changing gears from one medium to another and back again.”
There has always been a race between the show and the book. Beginning seasons of Thrones closely followed the novels but Martin has already admitted the new season will deviate from the books. Some storylines have already caught up with the book and creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff have confessed that there will be spoilers before the release of the author’s latest volumes.
Martin warned that there are some upcoming deaths that overtake its source material. It’ll be interesting to see what direction creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will take.
“People are going to die who don’t die in the books, so even the book readers will be unhappy,” Martin told IGN. “Everybody better be on their toes. David and D.B. are even bloodier than I am.”
If this season’s trailer was any indication, we all should expect a very bloody season anyways.
[h/t Esquire]
