Ever since HBO first began production on Game of Thrones, fans of the series have been acutely aware of George R. R. Martin’s deliberate writing pace. Despite a 15-year head start, Martin has only recently released book 5 of his 7 book series, setting up the distinct possibility of the show surpassing its source material before Martin has time to finish book 7. In an interview with NewsOK, Game of Thrones show writer Bryan Cogman discussed that impending predicament.
“Yeah, obviously I can’t say a ton about the future of the show but I think we have made it really clear that we aren’t stopping,” says Cogman. “We have talked with George and I think he understands that we can’t really stop either.
“We have the end mapped out and are excited about the show and all of the possibilities. It is a bit unprecedented but I imagine it will still appeal to both fans of the books and of the shows. And George is hard at work on the last two books, I know a lot of people get frustrated because they love this story so much and they want to see it finished, but it’s not just like he can press a magic button. He’s plugging away at it.”
Martin has alluded to several avenues the showrunners could travel down in order to allow him to finish the books before the show reaches its final season(s), but there’s no guarantee that this is the end the group has “mapped out.”
Last night’s premiere raked in over 6.6 million viewers, the most for the network since the finale of The Sopranos in 2007. Game of Thrones is currently in its fourth season, airing every Sunday at 9pm ET on HBO.
