6 Biggest Reveals From George RR Martin's Bombshell Game Of Thrones Interview

Several major reveals about the Game of Thrones franchise came to light in George R.R. Martin's new bombshell interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Martin is the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire books that the HBO series and its spinoffs are based on, and he has been heavily involved with the shows as a producer.

The interview includes Martin providing an update on the long-awaited The Winds of Winter, teasing how Winds and the final novel, A Dream of Spring, will be different from Game of Thrones' ending, and clarifying the status of his relationship with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal. Status updates and new details are also shared about numerous Game of Thrones spinoffs.

6 Another Author Will Never Take Over The Winds Of Winter

As the wait for The Winds of Winter continues, Martin emphasizes that if he passes away before the book is finished, there is no contingency plan for someone else to complete the book. The situation has been compared to The Wheel of Time fantasy series, which was finished by Brandon Sanderson after Robert Jordan's death.

While Martin continues to be open about some of the creative challenges he's faced with this installment, he expresses his desire to write the full story and to not leave it in another's hands. Check out his comments below:

If that happens, my work won’t be finished. It’ll be like The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Martin is referring to Charles Dickens' final novel being left unfinished after the author's death. When asked whether he has ever considered giving up on The Winds of Winter, Martin admits that "I would hate that. It would feel like a total failure to me. I want to finish.”

In addition to the narrative challenges he has faced while writing the book, Martin discusses how his own mood and the desire to sometimes focus on other projects can sometimes get in the way of making as much progress as he would like: "It’s been made clear to me that Winds is the priority, but … I don’t know. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for that."

5 Tyrion & Sansa May Have Different Fates In The Books' Darker Ending

For years, Martin has been open about the fact that the characters who die in Game of Thrones' later seasons are not necessarily the ones who will die in the later books. He expands on this sentiment by hinting at how the fates of Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark will be different, along with the overall tone of his ending. Read his comments below:

I was going to kill more people. Not the ones they killed [in the show]. They made it more of a happy ending. I don’t see a happy ending for Tyrion. His whole arc has been tragic from the first. I was going to have Sansa die, but she’s been so appealing in the show, maybe I’ll let her live.

Tyrion ends the show as Hand of the King to Bran Stark, who now rules most of Westeros, while Sansa is Queen of the North, which has become its own independent kingdom. It is Tyrion who argues that Bran should be king in the first place and that he is best-suited to give the Seven Kingdoms the fresh start they need.

While Bran sitting on the Iron Throne was divisive, as were many other elements of the final season, Sansa's Game of Thrones ending was generally well-received and considered a fitting culmination of her journey. In the books, she may not have the same fate as in the show, although Martin is now considering sparing her.

The series finale is not a happy ending in the traditional sense, but Tyrion, Sansa, Bran, Arya, and Jon all survive and embark on new beginnings in a world that is no longer at war. The ending to the books is poised to be darker and more tragic for Tyrion and seemingly for plenty of other characters as well.

4 Jon Snow's Spinoff Story Revealed

A Jon Snow spinoff series was announced in 2022, with Kit Harington reprising the titular role, before it was confirmed in 2024 that the project had been shelved. Little was known until now about the story other than that it would follow Jon after he goes beyond the Wall at the end of season 8.

The Hollywood Reporter's cover story reveals that Harington, in collaboration with two writers from his HBO series Gunpowder, wanted to explore Jon as a man living in solitude and struggling with PTSD. Jon would have chased away his direwolf, Ghost, and discarded Longclaw, the sword he wielded in Game of Thrones.

This broken version of Jon would keep busy by building cabins and burning them down. All of these elements were part of Harington's desire to ensure that the character was not depicted as a hero, and he wanted Jon to ultimately die.

With the ending to the books not written yet, the cover story also reveals that the Jon Snow spinoff was seen as a safer possibility for Martin. As he continues to work on his own conclusion, the spinoff would only have had to grapple with Jon and what was happening north of the Wall. Tyrion, Bran, Sansa, and other characters south of the Wall would not have been included, meaning their eventual endings in the novels wouldn't have been contradicted.

3 A New Game Of Thrones Sequel Series Is Now In Early Development

While the Jon Snow spinoff has been shelved, a new sequel series is now in very early stages of development. Writer Quoc Dang Tran, whose credits include the Apple TV series Drops of God, has been brought in to create a story set after Game of Thrones season 8.

It is noted that the potential series could shift focus to Arya Stark, with Maisie Williams reprising her role, after she sets sail into uncharted territory, although it is clarified that neither she nor any other actors are officially attached to the project yet.

An insider shared that "We are very interested and excited by the prospect of a sequel but also keenly aware of how high the bar of execution needs to be.”

Harington playing Jon Snow again in this developing sequel seems more unlikely than ever after being asked in December 2025 who he thinks could voice the character in a potential full-cast audiobook and replied, ​"No, god no. I don't wanna go anywhere near it. I spent 10 years doing that. Thanks, I'm alright." ​

2 Aegon's Conquest May Become A Movie Instead Of A Show

Aegon's Conquest, a spinoff series that explores King Aegon I Targaryen's conquest of Westeros, has been previously confirmed to be in development. While being developed as the HBO drama series that it was expected to be, the Warner Bros. film team is also working on possibly making it a feature-length film.

The scale of the potential Aegon's Conquest show has been compared to the Dune movies directed by Denis Villeneuve. Dune and Dune: Part Two were massive blockbusters and box office hits that successfully adapted Frank Herbert's original novel after several prior lackluster adaptations.

If Aegon's Conquest becomes a feature-length film, it would be the first in the Game of Thrones franchise. This isn't the first time that the franchise has almost taken this route, though. It was reported by Entertainment Weekly in 2018 that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss considered that the final season could be six hours long and released as three theatrical movies.

Weiss explained that he and Benioff didn't necessarily want to pivot to movies, but it seemed like the most feasible way narratively and financially to conclude the story. HBO executives did not accept this idea, but now something similar could become a reality with the Aegon spinoff.

1 Martin's Relationship With House Of The Dragon Showrunner Ryan Condal Is Now "Abysmal"

Martin has been candid before about being dissatisfied with certain changes that showrunner Ryan Condal made to House of the Dragon season 2 and how they differ from the source material, Fire & Blood. Ahead of House of the Dragon season 3, which releases later in 2026, Martin now shares that his relationship with Condal is "worse than rocky. It's abysmal."

Beyond the specific changes, Martin details that his frustrations are rooted in how he and the showrunner went from being partners who worked well together during season 1 to Condal ignoring his input during season 2. Check out Martin's explanation below:

I hired Ryan. I thought Ryan and I were partners. And we were all through the first season. I would read early drafts of the scripts. I would give notes. He would change some things. It was working really well — I thought.

Then we got into season two, and he basically stopped listening to me. I would give notes, and nothing would happen. Sometimes he would explain why he wasn’t doing it. Other times, he would tell me, "Oh, OK, yeah, I’ll think about that." It got worse and worse, and I began to get more and more annoyed. Finally, it got to a point where I was told by HBO that I should submit all my notes to them and they would give Ryan our combined notes.

Martin's relationship with Condal is in stark contrast from his relationship with Ira Parker, the showrunner of the new Game of Thrones spinoff series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. In the interview, he praises Parker for being "terrific and seems to have the same priorities I do — he’s trying to do something that’s very true to the characters.”

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly