Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin recently revealed that he wanted the HBO series to run for "at least" 10 seasons.
Martin, who authored the A Song of Ice and Fire novels that inspired Game of Thrones, recalled lobbying for the show to last longer than its eventual eight-season allotment in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "I was saying it needs to be 10 seasons at least and maybe 12, 13. I lost that one," he said. "I had no contribution to the later seasons except, you know, inventing the world, the story and all the characters. I believe I have more influence now [on spinoff series House of the Dragon] than I did on the original show."
Martin has previously opened up about being left "pretty much out of the loop" by Game of Thrones showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff as the series progressed. The scribe was initially closely involved with the production, providing input on casting decisions and even penning scripts for the first four seasons. He took a less hands-on approach from the fifth season onward, opting to focus on writing the still-unpublished sixth A Song of Ice and Fire novel, "The Winds of Winter," at which point Weiss and Benioff apparently consulted him less and less about the direction of the show.
Game of Thrones Showrunners' Reaction to House of the Dragon
Despite Weiss and Benioff's alleged estrangement from Martin, the pair were nevertheless happy to support House of the Dragon's showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik. "[T]hey were lovely," Sapochnik said. "I had one of the best experiences I've ever had in my career working with David and Dan [on Game of Thrones] -- they were wonderful to me, wonderful friends. No one's ever going to happy if you start going out with your best mate's girlfriend, it's just not going to happen, but they were good."
Condal co-developed House of the Dragon with Martin, basing the spinoff on 2018 novel Fire & Blood. The book is Martin's most recent published work set in the A Song of Ice and Fire universe, a cause of concern for fans who worry that the author won't live to complete the story. For his part, Martin would prefer it if people stopped fixating on his death, admitting it makes him uncomfortable. "I do find it a little grisly," he said. "People speculating online about what’s going to happen to the rest of the books when I die. I don’t like to speculate about that. I don’t feel close to dying."
All eight seasons of Game of Thrones are currently streaming on HBO Max.
Source: WSJ