George R.R. Martin has fully admitted that he got too busy with Game of Thrones to bring book readers The Winds of Winter. It looks like the author won't letting that happen again, now that a new prequel series in the works.
Martin said that he's not touching a script for the Targaryen-following House of the Dragon until he's wrapped Winds of Winter.
“I am not taking on any scripts until I have finished and delivered Winds of Winter,” he wrote in a blog post reacting to the recent news out of HBO.
While Martin says he's glad to have director Miguel Sapochnik back in the fold, he expressed sadness over the network's decision to shelve the Age of Heroes prequel that would have focused on the founding members of the great houses of Westeros.
"Heartbreaking as it is to work for years on a pilot, to pour your blood and sweat and tears into it, and have it come to nought, it’s not at all uncommon. I’ve been there myself, more than once," he wrote. "I know Jane and her team are feeling the disappointment just now, and they have all my sympathy…with my thanks for all their hard work, and my good wishes for whatever they do next.”
He also said the decision to move on had nothing to do with the second show.
"I do not know why HBO decided not to go to series on this one, but I do not think it had to do with House of the Dragon. This was never an either/or situation," he wrote. "If television has room enough for multiple CSI and Chicago shows… well, Westeros and Essos are a lot bigger, with thousands of years of history and enough tales and legends and characters for a dozen shows."
