George R.R. Martin won’t write an episode for Season 6, either
Last year, George R.R. Martin revealed that he wouldn’t be writing an episode for Season 5 of Game of Thrones, despite having written one episode during each previous season. He wanted to concentrate on writing The Winds of Winter, he said, and fans who had been waiting years for that book generally approved of his decision to take the extra time.
Well, it would appear that the extra time didn’t quite do the trick, as Martin recently announced on his Not A Blog blog that he will be taking Season 6 off too.
“After wrestling with it for a month or so, I’ve decided not to script an episode for season six of GAME OF THRONES. Writing a script takes me three weeks, minimum, and longer when it is not a straight adaptation from the novels. And really, it would cost me more time than that, since I have never been good at changing gears from one medium to another and back again. Writing a season six script would cost me a month’s work on WINDS, and maybe as much as six weeks, and I cannot afford that. With David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Bryan Cogman on board, the scriptwriting chores for season six should be well covered. My energies are best devoted to WINDS.”
This announcement comes a few months earlier than the same one last year, which could imply that Martin knows he still has a lot of Winds material to write. Also, Martin makes clear that The Winds of Winter isn’t the only thing that will be taking up his time. He’ll also be editing the latest volume in the Wild Cards anthology series, working on his development deal with HBO, and “consulting on a couple of video games,” among other things. He is, in other words, a busy man.
Like last year, it’s good to hear that Martin is taking the completion of The Winds of Winter seriously, but this news doesn’t bode well for the book’s swift release. At this point, fans should know that’s not in the cards, anyway. See you this time in five years, when Martin announces that he’s cancelling con appearances to complete A Dream of Spring.
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