By George R.R. Martin's assessment, it's too soon for HBO's Game of Thrones to be calling it a day.
In a wide-ranging chat with The Hollywood Reporterpublished while I awaited new Uzi Monday, Martin—who penned the A Song of Ice and Fire books on which the HBO series is based—was asked to explain his feelings as the TV end of his universe draws near.
"I don't think it should be the final season," Martin said. "But here we are. It seems to me we just started last week. Has it been longer than that? The time has passed by in a blur. But it's exciting. I know it's an end, but it's not much of an end for me. I'm still deep in writing the books. We saw five other sequel shows in development. I think I'm going to be hanging around Westeros while everyone else has left."
Asked how involved he was with the eighth and final batch of Thrones, Martin clarified that his team still has him holed up working on the continuation of the Thrones literary universe. "They're making me eat healthy food," he revealed. "It's gross!"
As it stands now, fans are awaiting Martin's The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. The previous installment, A Dance with Dragons, arrived just after Game of Thrones' 2011 premiere; the nearly eight-year wait for Book Six far eclipses the previous five-and-a-half-year slog. Previously, Martin suggested he wasn't certain how showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss might be bringing the story to a close.
Martin also noted that shooting on Jane Goldman's Thrones spinoff, set "thousands of years in the past," is "very close" to kicking off. Read the full interview here.
No word yet on whether Martin has had a chance to check out the song the Weeknd made with Travis Scott and SZA to mark the HBO empire's final season, which begins April 14.
