If you were truly unhappy with how season 8 of HBO's
Game of Thrones ended, you're in luck. Series author George R.R. Martin is reaffirming that the fantasy series will end differently than how the HBO series concluded. The question now is whether the ending was changed before or after season 8's final episode.
Previously, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss stated that they derived the ending of the series directly from GRRM himself (they assert that
Bran is going to end up on the Iron Throne in the books as well). However, the author later clarified that the ending he told the Benioff and Weiss was relayed over five years ago, insinuating that things would play out differently in
A Dream of Spring, the final entry in
A Song of Ice and Fire.
In a new interview with German newspaper Welt (via Men's Health), Martin is once again claiming that the true ending of
Game of Thrones will play out in his books.
"People know an ending—but not the ending," Martin teased.
"The makers of the TV show had overtaken me, which I didn't expect."
Do you think Martin is changing his ending due to the amount of backlash the season 8 finale received? Or did he just simply tell Benioff and Weiss his plans so long ago that by the time the show was set to end, Martin was already headed in a different direction?
Sadly, it will likely be quite the wait to see how things ultimately play out in the novels as
The Winds of Winter is still without a release date, meaning it will likely be years before
A Dream of Spring hits bookstore shelves.