If there’s one voice we wanted to hear above all the Game of Thrones debate, it’s the one belonging to George R.R. Martin.
He is, after all, the founding father of A Song of Ice and Fire, and is still – still – in the process of wrapping up the final two books in the fantasy series: “The Winds of Winter” and “A Dream of Spring.” Martin is yet to nail down any sort of release window for either installment, but he has vowed to write faster in order to deliver a fitting conclusion to his own Thrones saga.
Speaking of which, in light of “The Last Throne,” the seasoned author has penned his own send-off to HBO’s adaptation, in which he raises his glass to the Game of Thrones production crew and HBO, without whom none of this would’ve been possible.
The last night, the last show. After eight epic seasons, HBO’s GAME OF THRONES series has come to an end.” Martin’s post says in part. It is hard to believe it is over, if truth be told. The years have gone past in the blink of an eye. Can it really have been more than a decade since my manager Vince Gerardis set up a meeting at the Palm in LA, and I sat down for the first time with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for a lunch that lasted well past dinner? I asked them if they knew who Jon Snow’s mother was. Fortunately, they did. That was how it started. It ended last night.
That’s right, it’s going on 10 years since George R.R. Martin first met with HBO to bring Game of Thrones to the small screen, during which time the author regularly contributed to the show as producer and writer. He even sat down with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss right around the time when HBO’s TV series began to overtake the novels on which it’s based, leading to a whole bunch of uncharted storylines for Weiss and Benioff.
Indeed, soon after “The Last Night” was met with mixed reactions, Martin leapt to the defense of Weiss and Benioff, stating that it’s overly silly for fans to launch petitions and whatnot about a total reboot of season 8.
I had no clue, that afternoon at the Palm, that I was about to embark on a journey that would change my life. I had optioned books and stories for television and film before. Some had even been made There was no way to know that this one was going to be different, that this pilot would not only be shot, but would go on to become the most successful show in the history of HBO, win a record number of Emmy Awards, become the most popular (and most pirated) show in the world, and transform a group of talented but largely unknown actors into major celebrities and stars. Even less did I imagine that I would somehow become a celebrity as well… and if truth be told, I’m still not sure how that happened. It has been a wild ride, to say the least.
Martin concluded:
…any other network, and GAME OF THRONES would not have been what it became.” Martin explained. “Most other networks, this series never gets made at all. I could go on and on… and have, as I’ve been writing this post in my head… but there’s really too much to say. Parting is such sweet sorrow, the Bard wrote. In the weeks and months to come, I may post about some of my favorite moments from the making of this show… now and again, when I am feeling nostalgic… but just now, there are so many memories, and no time to do them all justice.
Game of Thrones has come and gone but Westeros will soon live on thanks to HBO’s prequel series. It’s already begun filming across parts of Belfast and Northern Ireland with a 2020 premiere seemingly on the cards. Plot details are few and far between, but word is the Children of the Forest have been earmarked as the show’s focal point.