The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones was polarizing, to say the least. As the seats unfolded, a number of fans expressed outrage writers’ decisions and the way they played out during the series' final six episodes, a frustration that culminated in an online petition to remake the season collecting 1.5 million signatures.
Now, George R.R. Martin has spoken out about the backlash. But rather than addressing specific instances, the writer gave his views on Internet fandom during an episode of Leonard Maltin’s movie podcast.
“The Internet is toxic in a way that old fanzine culture and fandoms — comics fans, science fiction fans — in those days, was not,” Martin said. “There were disagreements. There were feuds. But nothing like the madness that you see on the Internet.”
Martin has not publicly expressed his opinion about the show’s final season, but he did indicate in a post on his blog that not everything that happened would be similar to what he has planned for the next two novels.
“How will it all end? I hear people asking,” he wrote. “The same ending as the show? Different? Well… yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. I am working in a very different medium than David and Dan [the TV show creators Benioff and Weiss], never forget. They had six hours for this final season. I expect these last two books of mine will fill 3000 manuscript pages between them before I’m done… and if more pages and chapters and scenes are needed, I’ll add them.”
Production has begun on the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series. While a release date has not yet been set, the series is likely to air on HBO within the next two years.
Via Indiewire