‘Game of Thrones’ Final Season Isn’t “Much of an End” for Creator George R. R. Martin

As HBO’s epic adaptation of his novels comes to its close, Game of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin wishes the flagship series could continue.

“I don’t think it should be the final season. But here we are,” Martin told THR. “It seems to me we just started last week. Has it been longer than that? The time has passed by in a blur. But it’s exciting. I know it’s an end, but it’s not much of an end for me. I’m still deep in writing the books. We saw five other sequel shows in development. I think I’m going to be hanging around Westeros while everyone else has left. [Laughs].”

Asked about his involvement in the coming final season, Martin admits he’s “been in isolation” penning The Winds of Winter. “My loyal staff — I have a couple of them with me — have chained me to the typewriter. They’re making me eat healthy food,” Martin said with a laugh. “It’s horrible!”

The network plans to continue and expand the Game of Thrones mythology through five spinoffs, including an already greenlit prequel series.

“It hasn’t started shooting yet, but they’re getting very close to that. They have a great director and an amazing cast,” Martin said of the S.J. Clarkson-directed project. “I’ve been following along closely. I have my fingers crossed. It’s different. It’s definitely very different. It’s set thousands of years in the past. You’re looking at a whole different era of Westeros. No dragons, no Iron Throne, no King’s Landing. It will be interesting to see what the fans make of that.”

Though HBO programming president Casey Bloys says the network is “excited” ahead of the prequel’s summer shoot, HBO will only pick up the remaining four successor series once the prequel is up and running.

“It’s a great world and great IP. We’re going to do the pilot, see how it goes,” Bloys previously told THR.

“Is it possible we do another one? Maybe. But I don’t want HBO to become a network that airs just Game of Thrones or Game of Thrones prequels. It should be said that Game of Thrones has been an incredible show for us but what we’re doing is a much more diversified slate so that we’re not in a position that we have to get the Game of Thrones franchise up and running or the lights are going out at HBO. That is not the situation and it never has been.”

Game of Thrones‘ eighth and final season premieres April 14.

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