George RR Martin wanted at least 10 seasons for Game of Thrones but was finally rejected by the showrunners. With House of the Dragon, he is much more involved.
On the occasion of the launch of House of the Dragon on OCS on Monday, George RR Martin spoke with the wall street journal to talk about the franchise adapted from its bestsellers.
Although Game of Thrones was a phenomenal success for HBO, scooping Emmys and amassing a huge fan base worldwide, series co-creators David Benioff and DB Weiss opted to end the series after eight seasons. Martin revealed that he’s been pushing for many more seasons, with the idea of expanding the telling of this expansive story even further:
“I said it needed at least 10 seasons and maybe 12, 13. I lost that battle.“
In the end, George RR Martin didn’t have much to say regarding the final seasons of Game of Thrones, as the events of the series extend beyond the storyline established by the books published so far. . Also at the WSJ, he said:
I had no input into later seasons except, you know, inventing the world, the story, and all the characters. I believe I have more influence now on House of the Dragon than on the original series.
The author also talked about the unconventional process of developing a spin-off, for which five teams with distinct concepts visited him at his home in Santa Fe to present their respective visions. “It was like the NFL playoffs and me coaching all the teams“, did he declare. “Emotionally, it was a bit strange.“
Among those proposals, HBO shelved a concept after producing a pilot, starring Naomi Watts and reportedly costing nearly $30 million. Martin apparently had reservations about the concept before it was shot, given that it’s set in “an ancient time and briefly described” in his books.