The ending of HBO’s Game of Thrones proved to be one of the most controversial events in television history. Based on the in-progress series of novels by George R.R. Martin, the show eventually outpaced the source material. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss reportedly worked from Martin’s outlines when writing the finale, but many fans—and Martin himself—have been outspoken about their dissatisfaction. Martin recently reaffirmed that the Game of Thrones book ending will be different from the TV series.
Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones – HBO Max
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“I have said in other places, but I’ll just repeat it here,” Martin told a crowd at the Oxford Union on January 23, 2026. “The books are not going to end that way. They’re not.” He appeared about to make a comment regarding Benioff and Weiss, but before he could elaborate, the author was interrupted by a round of applause.
It’s been seven years since the HBO finale and nearly 15 years since A Dance with Dragons, the fifth novel in Martin’s epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire, was published. Many readers doubt that he will ever write that ending.
Martin’s Regret
During his talk at the Oxford Union, Martin said he’d been asked if he had any regrets. “The main regret I have is that the books aren’t done yet,” the author admitted, noting that he still has to produce two more books in order to complete the series.
When he sold the TV rights to HBO, Martin had published four books and said he was making “a lot of progress” on the fifth. Martin, noting that his books are very thick volumes, said he didn’t think the show could possibly catch up with him. “But they did,” he said. “A great part of that is my fault.”
David Benioff and D. B. Weiss speaking at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Game of Thrones”, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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The interviewer asked Martin if he could offer some constructive criticism on why the final season received what he described as “mixed reviews” and what could have been improved. “I really can’t answer that without giving away what I’m planning,” Martin said.
The author explained that he sees two different kinds of writers: architects and gardeners. As a gardener, he suggested that he allows his stories to grow organically, without as much planning as architects put into their work. He said gardener-style writers water their work with their blood, and “something grows, or it doesn’t grow, or it grows crooked.”
Martin seemed to suggest that his writing style is, at least in part, responsible for his slow progress. Taken together, his comments indicate that once Benioff and Weiss completed the story on television—largely without him—the version of the ending he envisions for the books continued to evolve in a different direction.
Getting to “The End”
At the end of HBO’s Game of Thrones, Daenerys became a tyrant and was killed by Jon Snow, allowing Brandon Stark to become king. Should Martin complete his magnum opus, the ending of his books will forever be compared to the show, no matter how different.
Rory McCann as The Hound in Game of Thrones – Max
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But at 77 years old, with two books yet to be finished, even Martin has openly expressed doubt that he will ever write “The End” on A Song of Ice and Fire. In December, he told The Hollywood Reporter, “[They’re saying] ‘Oh, he’ll never be finished.’ Maybe they’re right. I don’t know.”
How do you think George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones book ending will differ from the TV series? Let us know in the comments!
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