EW Reveals 7 Season Plan

[Colonel Green]

So I fail to see how that it was "similar in every relevant detail." Barristan came out of nowhere in the show. But in the books there was a fair amount of emphasis on him.

We were discussing having actors/plots disappear off the show for a season or more before reappearing (in the context of Dontos). Barristan did that, just as he did in the books.

[Calibandar]

The Vanity Fair interview appears to date back to before the comments from Benioff, Weiss and Lombardi on EW. Or were close to each other. GRRM may genuinely not be aware that the series will certainly end after 7 seasons.

His comments in the Vanity Fair interview certainly make it sound as if he is just not up to date. Which is odd in many ways, not the least of which that he is supposedly due another script for next year. Or maybe his script for season 5 is already done and it's still a good while before he writes his 6th season script, I don't know about that exactly.

He seems very much off course with his idea about AFFC/ADWD together taking up three seasons,it is crazy both in theory ( there is nowhere near enough story to fill two or three seasons) and in practice ( HBO obviously have no intention of giving AFFC/ADWD that much screen time), and he must know it. It'll be one season George, not 3. Then he says that Winds of Winter will hopefully give him a few more years as well. Which is again way off from reality, because that would( and will) be 1 season as well.

But there are two more books beyond that, A Feast for Crowsand A Dance with Dragons. A Dance with Dragons is itself a book that’s as big as A Storm of Swords. So there’s potentially three more seasons there, between Feast and Dance, if they split into two the way they did [with Storms]. Now, Feastand Dance take place simultaneously. So you can’t do Feast and then Dance the way I did. You can combine them and do it chronologically. And it’s my hope that they’ll do it that way and then, long before they catch up with me, I’ll have published The Winds of Winter, which’ll give me another couple years. It might be tight on the last book, A Dream of Spring, as they juggernaut forward.

[TheWhiteRabbit]

I think George has probably lost touch with reality.

[Faint]

His comments in the Vanity Fair interview certainly make it sound as if he is just not up to date. Which is odd in many ways, not the least of which that he is supposedly due another script for next year. Or maybe his script for season 5 is already done and it's still a good while before he writes his 6th season script, I don't know about that exactly.

From what I understand, the scripts for the fifth season are due on June 1 of this year, which makes his comments doubly strange. At the very least, he should know sometime in the next few months the scope and breadth of the fifth season, assuming he doesn't know already.

[protar]

I think George has probably lost touch with reality.

Sadly I'm inclined to agree. One can only hope that seeing Dany ruling Meereen this season will bring him back down to earth.

[Faint]

The idea that Martin is not aware about the pace of the show is not persuasive considering he writes an episode every season. If anything, he knows better than anyone besides Benioff, Weiss and Cogman.

[Konradsmith]

Well soon enough he'll know how far they intend to go with season 5. Maybe of course he isn't doing an episode for season 5 and Bryan Cogman is doing 3. Who knows though.

[littleRickon]

I think he's just bullshitting the interviewer. What is he supposed to say: "I really thought that I would have enough time to finish the books in time, but it looks like a screwed that up and the show will overtake me. anything else you want to ask?"

I can very much understand that he would stick to his old story of how he has a chance to stay ahead until the very moment where they do actually overtake him. Telling them now would make for an awkward interview and guarantee that the fans will hit him with angry letters non-stop.

I am sure that he is very much aware of the show's reality and of his realistic chances to finish in time. He just doesn't want to share that at this moment.

[protar]

I think he's just bullshitting the interviewer. What is he supposed to say: "I really thought that I would have enough time to finish the books in time, but it looks like a screwed that up and the show will overtake me. anything else you want to ask?"

I can very much understand that he would stick to his old story of how he has a chance to stay ahead until the very moment where they do actually overtake him. Telling them now would make for an awkward interview and guarantee that the fans will hit him with angry letters non-stop.

I am sure that he is very much aware of the show's reality and of his realistic chances to finish in time. He just doesn't want to share that at this moment.

I don't think Martin is one to lie like that. He could just say that the show catching up is becoming a very real possibility, but that if he gets things done quickly he can keep ahead. He can tell the truth and remain optimistic.

[Sun]

I think he's just bullshitting the interviewer. What is he supposed to say: "I really thought that I would have enough time to finish the books in time, but it looks like a screwed that up and the show will overtake me. anything else you want to ask?"

I can very much understand that he would stick to his old story of how he has a chance to stay ahead until the very moment where they do actually overtake him. Telling them now would make for an awkward interview and guarantee that the fans will hit him with angry letters non-stop.

I am sure that he is very much aware of the show's reality and of his realistic chances to finish in time. He just doesn't want to share that at this moment.

Pretty much this.

[Mr Fixit]

I don't think Martin is one to lie like that. He could just say that the show catching up is becoming a very real possibility, but that if he gets things done quickly he can keep ahead. He can tell the truth and remain optimistic.

I don't know what to think. Martin not only writes one episode per season, but D&D run each episode by him. Not to mention that all of them must have some conversations/suggestions/e-mails before/during writing each new season just so everyone knows how things stand. It's impossible that Martin can sincerely believe this.

[Lord Varys]

Well, we don't know what the show runners intend. Perhaps the secret plan is to skip/change stuff in the end, as not to spoil the outcome of the books, rather than to cut AFfC/ADwD short. All we do know is that they are aiming at 7-8 seasons, not what they want to cut.

I'm pretty sure GRRM has little interest to see the showrunners ruin what he has in store for the conclusion of the series.

[King Tommen]

Well, we don't know what the show runners intend. Perhaps the secret plan is to skip/change stuff in the end, as not to spoil the outcome of the books, rather than to cut AFfC/ADwD short. All we do know is that they are aiming at 7-8 seasons, not what they want to cut.

I'm pretty sure GRRM has little interest to see the showrunners ruin what he has in store for the conclusion of the series.

Anyone still clinging to the notion that the show will change the ending in order to preserve something for the book readers is living in unicorn land.

[Lord Varys]

How so? If GRRM does not know exactly how he intends to intend certain story lines when the show runners are writing their scripts depicting their version of the end, they most certainly won't be able to adapt the ending GRRM intends to write, or would they?

D&D apparently know 'the broad strokes of what's supposed to happen to the important characters'. That can mean everything or nothing, really.

[King Tommen]

How so? If GRRM does not know exactly how he intends to intend certain story lines when the show runners are writing their scripts depicting their version of the end, they most certainly won't be able to adapt the ending GRRM intends to write, or would they?

D&D apparently know 'the broad strokes of what's supposed to happen to the important characters'. That can mean everything or nothing, really.

You don't think that after living and breathing this series for 20+ years, that George doesn't have the major character paths pretty much set for the end? He doesn't know exactly how he's going to construct the chapters or put together the dialogue, but the structure and outline? That's got to be pretty much fleshed out by this point.

This is all stuff D&D know already. He told them the ending years ago and last year they asked him to tell them exactly what happens to all the major characters as well as who of the minor characters play a major role in the endgame, which he obliged. They sat down with him for a full week. What do you think they did, shot the shit?

The paths to get exactly where the end is won't be fully realized but things like "Battle of Meereen goes down this way, Dany meets up with x, they eventually go to Pentos, she and Tyrion go to the Wall, then she has this conversation with Jon, the battle occurs here, then she dies taking King's Landing with the dragons, Stannis takes the Iron Throne etc etc" is all done and will play out that way on the show. You're as delusional as George is if you think that there's going to be any kind of major deviation with regards to these events from show to book.

[Nordeast]

This may sound like pure summer idealism, but maybe the show putting pressure on George is exactly what he needed. He has a real deadline now to push him. The internet comments never seemed to move him so maybe the idea of having someone tell his story first just might.

Also whats with people not thinking Season 5 having a cliff hanger to end on? I can think of one that would get some awesome youtube reactions and it happens on the Wall.

[The Human Abstract]

Did they say whether they even intended to finish the story? I think they might just end it early rather than trying to wrap up a story they have only a vague outline for in 20-ish episodes.

[Colonel Green]

This may sound like pure summer idealism, but maybe the show putting pressure on George is exactly what he needed. He has a real deadline now to push him. The internet comments never seemed to move him so maybe the idea of having someone tell his story first just might.

The show has been a "real deadline" for years now.

And I was one of the people who thought that the show's existence would focus him, but it clearly hasn't. If anything, it's just facilitated his doing other stuff.

Did they say whether they even intended to finish the story? I think they might just end it early rather than trying to wrap up a story they have only a vague outline for in 20-ish episodes.

Obviously they intend to finish the story. The show is not going to stop without resolving the series' primary plotlines -- it would kill the series' long-term value to HBO as a finished product. They will resolve who gets the Iron Throne (if anyone), and they will resolve the conflict with the White Walkers, and the arcs of all the major characters. Game of Thrones is not like if you were filming the Anne Shirley novels and decided to stop before Rilla of Ingleside -- the whole series has been building to a couple of very specific climaxes, and the show will deliver on them.

[The Human Abstract]

Obviously they intend to finish the story. The show is not going to stop without resolving the series' primary plotlines -- it would kill the series' long-term value to HBO as a finished product. They will resolve who gets the Iron Throne (if anyone), and they will resolve the conflict with the White Walkers, and the arcs of all the major characters.

I'm actually having a hard time imaging this staff of mediocre writers pulling that all off (plus other character plot threads) and doing a decent job of it in about 20 episodes. Even without expanding the scope to the Martells and Blackfyres.

[Rashtibram]

I'm actually having a hard time imaging this staff of mediocre writers pulling that all off (plus other character plot threads) and doing a decent job of it in about 20 episodes. Even without expanding the scope to the Martells and Blackfyres.

Why does everyone have this strange idea that the writers are bad, and won't be able to create good scenes based on outlines? As I think King Tommen pointed out, they've been told all the major plot points by GRRM, all the twists and all the resolutions, and have all the means to construct two seasons of television based on them. I seem to be of the minority opinion that the writing suffered more when the series was copied (virtually) word-for-word from the books in season 1, than when they created their own material.

In any case, however, whether or not you think they'd be good at it doesn't affect the probability that it's going to happen. D&D have known about the ending for years now, and just recently sat down with Martin to discuss all the finer points and character resolutions. This is one of the most internationally popular HBO shows of all time, and they're not going to cut it short just because they're not working with source material anymore; the suggestion is frankly ludicrous.