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Good News And/Or Bad News: George R.R. Martin Is Skipping Game of Thrones Season 5 to Write The Winds of Winter

Yay?

George R.R. Martin

Every time George R.R. Martin so much as steps outside his home, someone on the Internet yells at him to go back inside and finish writing A Song of Ice and Fire. Well, looks like you’ve all got your wish! Now he’s so busy with the book form of his iconic fantasy epic that he won’t be able to write an episode for the HBO series this season.

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In an interview with Vulture at San Diego Comic-Con, Martin admitted that he wouldn’t be spending much time visiting the sets for next season or even writing any episodes:

Which shooting location are you going to choose to visit this season? Seems like a tough one since you’ve added another warm, exotic locale to the list, with Spain subbing in for Dorne.
I don’t know. I might make it over there early next year, but I’ve got to finish the book The Winds of Winter. So I’m making the trips I’m already obligated to make, but I’m not adding any new trips at this time. So I don’t think I’m going to do a set visit this year, sadly.

Are you still going to write an episode?
Not this year, no — once again because I have this book to finish.

While it’s exciting to see Martin buckle down and work on his next book, it’s also worrisome. After all,Martin’s writen some of the best episodes of the show, such as last year’s “The Lion and the Rose,” or Season 2’s “Blackwater” climax. A large number of viewers have also completely lost faith in the direction Weiss and Benioff have gone with the show, particularly after how rough it was towards its female characters last season. And next season doesn’t appear to be much better; many have speculated that because no Arianne Martell casting was announced yesterday and Trystane was described by various outlets as “The Heir to Dorne,” the show might be removing the true heir entirely and giving all her storylines to Ellaria and the Sand Snakes (I’m personally waiting to HBO to confirm this for my sanity’s sake, but if it’s true, I’ll be pretty aggravated). As Martin notes, he doesn’t have a whole lot of input into where Game of Thrones takes his characters, but it’s nonetheless disheartening to hear that he’s removing himself further this year.

On the plus side, maybe now the readers who act antagonistically towards George R.R. Martin will think twice the next time they derisively make jokes at his expense. “They’ll rip the arms off you,” Martin told Vulture of those people who won’t let him take his time. Hm. Maybe you should rip some of their arms off back, you think?

(via Uproxxx)

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