With the fifth season of Game of Thrones set to premiere next month, fans of the show and book alike loom perilously on the edge of their seats in anticipation. The former for the HBO series to hurry up and continue, the latter for author George R. R. Martin to hurry up and finish the sixth book, The Winds of Winter. It would seem that the television show will pass Martin’s book series before he ever completes it.
Spoilerish territory ahead — kind of — because according to showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. The pair joined Kit Harington and John Bradley at the Oxford Union to promote the upcoming fifth season when the point was raised. Benioff went straight into it:
Luckily, we’ve been talking about this with George for a long time, ever since we saw this could happen, and we know where things are heading. And so we’ll eventually, basically, meet up at pretty much the same place where George is going; there might be a few deviations along the route, but we’re heading towards the same destination. I kind of wish that there were some things we didn’t have to spoil, but we’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. The show must go on. . .and that’s what we’re going to do. (Via Vanity Fair)
So, Game of Thrones will beat A Song of Ice and Fire, but both will end in the same place. Benioff and Weiss didn’t think this approach would harm book sales, and according to them, Martin’s not concerned either. Even so, better hurry up and finish the damn book, George.
You can watch the entire chat below:
(Via Vanity Fair)
