It’s been over thirteen years since the release of A Dance with Dragons, the most recent installment of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels. To say fans have been anticipating the next novel is something of an understatement, but as the years have passed by, many have begun to wonder if Martin will ever finish The Winds of Winter. Turns out, it’s a concern Martin shares.
“Unfortunately, I am 13 years late,” Martin told THR. “Every time I say that, I’m [like], ‘How could I be 13 years late?’ I don’t know, it happens a day at a time. But that’s still a priority, and I do hope to visit it. A lot of people are already writing obituaries for me. [They’re saying] ‘Oh, he’ll never be finished.’ Maybe they’re right. I don’t know. I’m alive right now! I seem pretty vital!“
Even when Martin does finish The Winds of Winter, there’s still A Dream of Spring, the planned seventh and possibly final installment of the series.
Although Martin has been making progress on The Winds of Winter, it is slow going, especially as the author is very involved in the various Game of Thrones projects being developed at HBO. One of those projects is a potential Game of Thrones movie. HBO chief Casey Bloys recently confirmed it was in the works and that Martin was involved in the process. “They’re going to develop [an] idea,” Bloys said. “We’ll see if it’s good. We’ll read the scripts along with them. I think it could be fun and interesting. I mean, that’s the point of development, you see is there a story that’s worthy of being in theaters and a big spectacle? I think it would be fun.”
A third season of House of the Dragon is on the way, with another spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, set to debut on HBO in 2025. There have been a number of Game of Thrones projects which have been scrapped, including a Jon Snow series which Kit Harington has said is now on the shelf. “Currently, it’s off the table, because we all couldn’t find the right story to tell that we were all excited about enough,” Harington said. “So, we decided to lay down tools with it for the time being. There may be a time in the future where we return to it, but at the moment, no. It’s firmly on the shelf.“
If you were a betting person, would you put money on Martin finishing The Winds of Winter?
