Fans of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels have long awaited the planned sixth entry in the series, The Winds of Winter. After more than a decade of delays, even Martin is acknowledging the possibility that it may never come to be.
Martin spoke about the book in a recent interview with THR, mostly focused on the four films he's self-financed based on the short stories of science-fiction writer Howard Waldrop. However, the subject of The Winds of Winter -- and how Martin is managing to balance that highly anticipated novel with his other pursuits -- inevitably came up.
"Unfortunately, I am 13 years late," he told the outlet. "Every time I say that, I'm [like], 'How could I be 13 years late?' I don't know, it happens a day at a time."
"But that's still a priority," he continued. "A lot of people are already writing obituaries for me. [They're saying] 'Oh, he'll never be finished.' Maybe they're right. I don't know. I'm alive right now! I seem pretty vital!"
It's only the latest in what's been an increasingly bleak wait for The Winds of Winter, with the most recent entry in the series, A Dance With Dragons, publishing in 2011. That's also when HBO premiered Game of Thrones, which drew more eyes to Westeros.
Martin revealed in November 2023 that he's written 1,100 pages of The Winds of Winter—the same number as a year prior. In 2022, he said he was "about three-quarters" done and expected over 1,500 pages total.
Most recently this past September, Martin admitted limited progress due to his TV commitments consuming much time. Notably, The Winds of Winter isn't set to be A Song of Ice and Fire's final book; A Dream of Spring was intended to close out the series despite waning fan hope.
(Note: The THR article calls The Winds of Winter the "sixth and final book" in A Song of Ice and Fire series; we're assuming that's just a mistake; Martin's never formally canceled A Dream of Spring publicly).
Still hopefuly Martin noted he could never retire since he's "not a golfer." So hey!
Even if we never get The Winds Of Winter there's plenty happening on TV House Dragon still track seasons third expected start production early next year Another spinoff Knight Seven Kingdoms set arrive sometime late 2025 early talk Game Thrones movie