The book author doesn't nix the idea of the show lasting for ten years, but adds that right now no one knows when the show will end.
- Mar 14, 2015
AceShowbiz - George R.R. Martin supports Michael Lombardo's wish for ten seasons of "Game of Thrones". Addressing the show's future, the author of "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel series which the show is based on wrote on his blog he would love to see the show run for ten years, but right now no one knows when the show will end. "I don't know. No one knows," he wrote on Thursday night, March 12.
"I allowed that ten years sounded fine to me. I continue to hear similar sentiments from HBO every time I have a meeting with them, be it in LA or New York," he said, before adding, "Right now, 'Game of Thrones' is guaranteed only six seasons. That's all HBO has officially committed to, by contract. We can speculate about additional seasons beyond that, but that's all it is, speculation."
He went on explaining, "Weird stuff happens in television, and there are sooooo many factors involved. Budgets. Actors' contracts. New shows in development. Ratings ... Around the time that the second episode of season six is showing, HBO will order season seven, we hope ... or maybe, just maybe, they will order seasons seven AND eight. But even if they just order season seven, that doesn.t mean that the show will end in seven; it could just represent a return to the original policy of committing to only one season at a time."
As for a possible movie adaptation, Martin said he supported the idea, but he wasn't the one who originated the idea. "It was a notion suggested to me, which I have enthusiastically endorsed... but since I was the first person to raise the possibility in public, somehow I am being seen as its father. Sure, I love the idea. Why not? What fantasist would not love the idea of going out with an epic hundred million feature film?" he said.
Previously, Michael Lombardo, programming president of HBO, told EW.com, "Would I love the show to go 10 years as both a fan and a network executive? Absolutely," before adding that he hadn't talked about it with showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss.
Benioff, meanwhile, said that he and Weiss wouldn't want to drag out the story. "We know basically how many hours are left in this story. We don't want to add 10 hours to that. It's about finding that sweet spot so it works for us and for HBO and, most of all, it works for the audience," he said.
"Game of Thrones" will return with the fifth season on Sunday, April 12 on HBO.
