Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin is shedding new, cryptic light on the complicated relationship he had with the original HBO series’ creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff.
In a new interview with the New York Times, Martin confirms that his behind-the-scenes involvement decreased dramatically in the show’s final seasons. After being heavily engaged during Seasons 1 through 4, consulting on everything from scripts to casting, “By Season 5 and 6, and certainly 7 and 8, I was pretty much out of the loop,” he shares.
Asked why he became estranged from the show, Martin admits, “I don’t know — you have to ask Dan and David.” (Weiss and Benioff declined the Times‘ request for comment.)
Martin has been decidedly more hands-on with HBO’s forthcoming Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon (which is adapted from the first volume of Martin’s Fire & Blood).
“George, for us, in this process has been a really valuable resource,” HBO’s chief content officer Casey Bloys told the Times of Martin, who co-created House of the Dragon with showrunner Ryan J. Condal. “He is literally the creator of this world. He is its historian, its creator, its keeper. And so I can’t imagine doing a show that he didn’t believe in or didn’t endorse.”
House of the Dragon premieres Sunday, Aug. 21 on HBO.
