The TV show "Game of Thrones" is catching up with the books and with season 5 and 6 picked up by HBO, there is concern if there is enough material for the show to work with. As of right now, the release date for "Winds of Winter" is still unknown.
According to International Digital Times, George R.R. Martin is still working on it and there is still no hint about the release date. More than this, Martin believes that HBO should give "Game of Thrones" more seasons as there is more than enough material to use.
Martin's editor Anne Lesley Groell envisioned eight books. She recalls "I begin to wonder-though 7 is what we currently have under contract. I remember when he called me, years and years back, to confess that his little trilogy was...well...no longer a trilogy." She went on to say, "So, maybe eight books for Seven Kingdoms would be okay." Martin clarifies his editor's comments, saying that his plan is still 7 books, but is not ruling out writing 8 books.
He further explains to EW: "My plan is to finish in seven. But my original plan was to finish in three. I write the stories and they grow. I deal with certain things and sometimes I find myself not at the end of a story. My plan right now is still seven. But first I have to finish Book Six. Get back to me when I'm half-way through Book Seven and then maybe I'll tell you something more meaningful."
Right now, "Winds of Winter" only has 168 pages and there's still no news about "A Song of Spring." His previous works have more than a thousand pages, so he does have a long way to go. Clearly, Martin doesn't plan ahead what he is going to write about, which means that things in "Game of Thrones" can change drastically from one season to another.
Martin believes that seven seasons will not be enough for the story of "A Song of Ice and Fire" to be told. There's a lot more ground to cover.
In addition, Martin believes that "Game of Thrones" season 4 could've used more time to tell the story from the book. He continued: "I like many of the new scenes they've inserted along the way, though I miss the things they leave out. Obviously I put those scenes in the books for a reason, I felt they added to the story. As I've been saying for years, I wish they had more hours -- every time I see another HBO show I wonder why we only have 10 and they have 13. But we've done some major stuff this year. The Purple Wedding and Tyrion's trial - with incredible performances by Peter Dinklage and Sibel Kekilli. And the trial by combat was amazing, too. I'm really looking forward to next week as I'm told we have a battle that dwarfs the Battle of the Blackwater."
Dan Weiss and David Benioff said that it's highly unlikely that GOT will go further than seven seasons. Martin has expressed his sentiments over this matter a couple of times already. Further, Martin thinks that making feature films will help with the storytelling too.
The question is, does Martin really believe that there's still tons of material to work with? Or is he just playing for time until he finishes "Winds of Winter?"
