Game of Thrones: George R. R. Martin Says He Was “Out of the Loop” in Final Seasons

Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin says that he was out of the loop by the time the later seasons of the show came along. In an interview with The New York Times, the writer discussed everything surrounding the launch of HBO’s House of the Dragon. “By Season 5 and 6, and certainly 7 and 8, I was pretty much out of the loop,” Martin revealed. As another entry in the much-debated franchise, outlets have been asking the man who started it all about his feelings. However, the topic of the original Game of Thrones series ends up coming up. 

It’s no secret that the ending of that show was divisive in many forms. Showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are widely derided in the fanbase for some slip-ups in attention to detail. But, many of those same viewers are coming back for House of Dragon. Now, some people are hoping that Martin has much more input in this series after the finale and last few episodes glided off the rails last time.

This time, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik are in the showrunner chair for House of the Dragon. They talked to The Hollywood Reporter about taking on such a massive property. HBO parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has made it very clear that huge franchises are the way they see things being made going forward.

“I had one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my career working with David and Dan – they were wonderful to me, wonderful friends,” Sapochnik explained. “No one’s ever going to happy if you start going out with your best mate’s girlfriend, it’s just not going to happen, but they were good.”

On the red carpet, Condal revealed how this new story in Westeros deviates from the first entry. The Targaryens have a much more outsized role to play this time around.

“As soon as George pitched this to me, all the gears clicked into place. Telling the story of the Targaryens at the height of their power made tons of sense coming off the original show because we get to know Daenerys very well, we get to know the myth and legend of her family but we don’t know much about the Targaryens as they actually existed,” Condal said. “It’s an intimate story; it’s a bit of a Greek tragedy about the house divided, a house that tears itself apart over a succession. Very Game of Thrones but very different from the original.”

How did you feel about late-period Game of Thrones? Let us know down in the comments!