Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin talks about how he is open to the hit HBO TV series ending on the big screen.
George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels are long. But better known now as the Game of Thrones books, there are still only five of them, and for fans who are keeping score, HBO’s hit adaptation is on Season 4.
So, at the Game of Thrones Season 4 premiere held at Lincoln Center last night, it is unsurprising that the question of what happens when the show catches up remains a persistent query for the American author. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Martin remained hopeful that he can stay ahead of the TV series, and noted that while there are only seven (currently planned) novels in the unfinished literary series, there are a multitude of avenues that the adaptation can travel to continue the saga. There could even be a movie…
“It all depends on how long the main series runs,” Martin said to THR.“Do we run for seven years? Do we run for eight? Do we run for 10? The books get bigger and bigger (in scope). It might need a feature to tie things up, something with a feature budget, like $100 million for two hours. Those dragons get real big, you know.”
Aye, Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons do get very big, but we suspect those books are getting condensed. While the upcoming Season 4 will primarily be adapting the last half of Martin’s third Westerosi novel, A Storm of Swords, it will also bleed into events from both Martin’s fourth and fifth novels (which occur simultaneously in different parts of his universe), A Feast For Crows and A Dance With Dragons. For those who have read those expansive books, there would appear more than enough to condense events into a single fifth season, particularly with a solid head start in Season 4.
Martin’s suggestion that HBO is considering a theatrical finale that would bring Tryion Lannister, Arya Stark, and other fan favorites to the big screen is an enticing one. Yet, we’re still more inclined to believe series co-creator and showrunner David Benioff when he said that the show will likely end after seven or eight seasons. Benioff further elaborated with a more definitive answer that the aim is to conclude it in seven seasons, the number of choice for most Westerosi citizens.
But what about you? Would you like to see Drogon bringing Fire and Blood to the Whitewalkers in a multiplex within a few years? At the very least, Martin still has Tales of Dunk and Egg, three prequel novellas set 90 years before Game of Thrones, which are apparently being considered for big screen adaptation.
The fourth season of Game of Thrones premieres April 6, 2014.
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that's your thing!