Game of Thrones followers may need somebody new to blame for that lackluster ending.

While reflecting on the ultimate seasons of the present, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss confirmed that the unique plan was to produce three films as an alternative of the ultimate 13 episodes that aired throughout two seasons. The writing duo instructed the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ. Magazine in a profile revealed on Thursday, February 22, that community executives at HBO allegedly shut down the idea.

“Benioff and Weiss, who have been friends since grad school, weren’t crazy about HBO’s then-owners, AT&T, whose executives once asked whether Game of Thrones could be shot vertically so it would fit on your phone,” the article claimed. “The company also openly discussed the idea of snackable mini-episodes of the series.”

Benioff, 53, additionally alleged that he was instructed HBO stands for “Home Box Office” and never “Away Box Office.”

“Dysfunction kills more projects than anything else, whether it’s interpersonal dysfunction or institutional dysfunction,” Weiss, 52, stated concerning the duo working with Netflix for his or her subsequent venture, 3 Body Problem.

Benioff stated their previous expertise influenced their method this time round, including, “When you sign a five-year deal with a company, you want that company to be stable so you can be left alone to do your work and not have to worry about it being bought by the phone company. Finding the smoothest ride in the ocean was key.”

Game of Thrones, which aired from 2011 to 2019, was an adaptation of a collection of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin titled A Song of Ice and Fire. After eight seasons, the present ended with Bran Stark changing into king and banning Jon Snow (Kit Harington) to the Night’s Watch after he killed Daenerys (Emilia Clarke). Sansa (Sophie Turner) was topped Queen of the North, Arya (Maisie Williams) determined to journey west and King’s Landing went up in flames, which left many viewers lower than thrilled.

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Amid the backlash, Martin, 75, weighed in on how his ebook ending would differ. He claims the ebook collection will finish after seven novels, however followers have been ready on the sixth ebook, The Winds of Winter, for greater than a decade.

“The Winds of Winter is very late, I know, I know, but it will be done. I won’t say when, I’ve tried that before, only to burn you all and jinx myself … but I will finish it, and then will come A Dream of Spring,” Martin wrote on his weblog in 2019. “How will it all end? I hear people asking. The same ending as the show? Different? Well … yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes.”

He continued: “I am working in a very different medium than David and Dan, never forget. They had six hours for this final season. I expect these last two books of mine will fill 3000 manuscript pages between them before I’m done … and if more pages and chapters and scenes are needed, I’ll add them.”

Readers who’re ready on new pages from Martin have continued to get their repair with HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoff collection House of the Dragon. The prequel, which debuted its first season in 2022, took inspiration from Martin’s 2018 novel Fire & Blood.

House of the Dragon is about a whole bunch of years earlier than the occasions of GoT and focuses on the ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen.

Emma D’Arcy performs Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, whereas Matt Smith brings the position of her uncle Prince Daemon Targaryen to life. The present additionally stars Eve Best, Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Fabien Frankel, Rhys Ifans, Sonoya Mizuno and Steve Toussaint. Season 2 is about to premiere later this yr.