'I Don't Feel Happy Breaching Contracts or Missing a Deadline': George R.R. Martin Says He Doesn't Love How Late Winds of Winter Is

Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin whitethorn person been penning The Winds of Winter for 15 years, but helium wants fans to cognize he's not blessed with however precocious it is.

Speaking to fans astatine New York Comic Con, Martin reflected connected the continued delays to the sixth publication successful his A Song of Ice and Fire saga, and said helium had ever been frustrated erstwhile failing to crook enactment successful connected time.

"I cognize there's each this contention astir Winds of Winter and however precocious it is, but I've ever had occupation with deadlines," Martin said, arsenic reported by Entertainment Weekly, "and I don't consciousness blessed breaching contracts oregon missing a deadline oregon thing similar that."

Martin besides addressed the information that helium has taken connected a multitude of different projects alternatively of finishing Winds of Winter, and defended his close to enactment connected antithetic ideas that besides funny him.

In the decennary and a fractional since helium finished A Dance with Dragons, Martin has written Game of Thrones spin-off publication Fire & Blood, the Rogue Prince & The Princess spin-off novella trilogy, and a bid of companion books specified arsenic The World of Ice & Fire and The Rise of the Dragon. He's besides contributed to and edited caller issues of sci-fi superhero anthology Wild Cards, among others.

Outside the satellite of books, Martin famously helped physique the lore of video crippled smash deed Elden Ring, and has seen respective much of his works turned into TV bid and films, specified arsenic HBO's hugely-successful House of the Dragon, positive fearfulness bid Nightflyers and phantasy movie In the Lost Lands.

But conscionable due to the fact that each of these movie and TV projects are being commissioned, it doesn't mean they're things Martin is ever actively moving on, the writer argued, alert of the ire that arises whenever it's announced he's doing thing other that's not finishing A Song of Ice and Fire's last 2 volumes.

"Every clip that happens, and I denote it connected my website, fractional the net goes crazy," Martin said. "'Why the f*** is George R.R. Martin penning this different happening erstwhile helium should beryllium penning Winds of Winter? What is helium doing?' And I privation to say, 'I did it successful 1993, guys. Come on! It was lying successful my drawer, and they wanted it, truthful I sold it to them!'"

That said, helium is contributing clip to immoderate different projects, specified arsenic the aforementioned Wild Cards and the AMC play bid Dark Winds, for which helium serves arsenic an enforcement producer. This summer, it was announced that Martin had besides joined the accumulation of an upcoming animated Hercules movie. Addressing this, Martin said his assorted projects were akin to his children, which helium loved equally.

"Yes, I bash emotion Winds of Winter," Martin concluded. "I'm inactive funny successful it, I'm inactive moving connected it, but honestly, I emotion these different things, too."

Speaking successful December 2024, Martin described Winds of Winter arsenic "still a priority", though suggested those saying his saga mightiness ne'er beryllium implicit could beryllium correct. "A batch of radical are already penning obituaries for me. [They’re saying] ‘Oh, he’ll ne'er beryllium finished.’ Maybe they’re right. I don’t know. I’m live close now! I look beauteous vital!”

Craig Barritt/Getty Images for ReedPop.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social