When Game of Thrones came out in 2011 (a full 15 years after George RR Martin’s book), it became an instant phenomenon that changed television forever. Another 15 years later, the franchise has only grown. At the beginning of 2026, the third spin-off of the franchise appeared, with “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” brings great fun and optimism to Westeros. Meanwhile, the third season of “Dragon House” continues to develop, and Warner Bros. even threatens to release a film trilogy about Aegon the Conqueror – the saddest idea for a movie.
But what about Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series? You know, the incomplete book series that was killed off by an adaptation that quickly went awry? Well, we may have a clue…in another book series.
Earlier this year, The Hollywood Reporter published an extensive interview with Martin. In it, he recalled meeting Dune author Frank Herbert at a book convention in 1975. According to Martin, Herbert was tired of fans and publishers asking him for more Dunes, even though he had other ideas he wanted to pursue.
“He didn’t like Dune anymore, and he didn’t want to write any more Dune books,” Martin said. “But he felt locked in by the success of Dunes, so he kept writing them.” When a reporter asked if Martin could relate to Herbert, he replied, “I’m not necessarily world-weary (of Ice and Fire),” he said. “I love the world and world building. But yes.”
Is George RR Martin sick of Game of Thrones?
Just as the first three Dunes books are the best in the series before Frank Herbert was forced to continue writing, the first three A Song of Ice and Fire books are without a doubt the three best books in the series so far. They were published in rapid succession and contain the best writing and encapsulation of the themes and ideas of George RR Martin in the fantasy genre. After the third book, Martin got stuck, became a victim of his own world-building. It is known that he wanted to start the fourth book with a big jump in time, before finally deciding that it would require too much exposition. As a result, Martin does not seem to know how to achieve the intended ending, given that he continues to rewrite The Winds of Winter and going back and forth on whether to kill off the main characters. He’s clearly not happy about it, and maybe he never will be.
How does this relate to Herbert? It’s easy to see that George RR Martin has finished A Song of Ice and Fire. There’s little incentive to write more books, given that Game of Thrones has a version of the ending, and whatever he writes will only cause huge controversy and complaints from fans. “The Winds of Winter”, like the two previous books, was not part of Martin’s plan, but imposed responsibilities, expanding the world and adding knowledge.
But he is in love with the world. So instead, he explores other things that concern him, much like Tolkien’s true love was The Silmarillion, with its collection of stories, lore, and history.
Focus on Dunk and Egg, George
One thing to remember: George RR Martin is also a television writer, and a very good one at that. In addition to forgotten twilight zone episode Martin wrote the scripts for several series, including the adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Some of the best episodes of Game of Thrones were written by Martin. This means that Martin is clearly interested in television as a medium, and he likes to participate in adaptations of his works.
If Martin is tired of the expectation that he will have to finish A Song of Ice and Fire despite how hard it has become for him to understand the plot of the rest of the series, maybe he should give it up. Just stop George, ditch the novels and focus on what you really like. Due to the fact that Warner Bros. clearly playing for more titles set in Westeros, why not have Martin helm his own project? Let him pick one corner of his world and give him the freedom to tell a story for television or film that we haven’t seen or read before.
Heck, why not just go full-on with “Dunk and Egg?” Martin was very involved in Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and, by all accounts, seems to love this production. If A Song of Ice and Fire isn’t helping him anymore, let him focus on telling more Dank and Egg stories for the rest of his life. Let him spend as much time as he has left on this planet doing what he loves, and not be forced to satisfy the expectations of fans and the demands of publishers. Maybe Martin could be the key to us actually getting one 12 seasons of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms are planned.
