Author George R. R. Martin wanted there to be 10-13 seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones instead of 7.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal about his latest show The House of the Dragon, Martin said that he wanted there to be 10 or more seasons. That did not happen and the ending was met with a lot of criticism.
“I was saying it needs to be 10 seasons at least and maybe 12, 13,” Martin said. “I lost that one.”
Martin Had Little Input in the Final Seasons
Besides not getting the desired seasons for the show that was based on his A Song of Ice and Fire series, Martin also had little to no input in the final few seasons.
“I had no contribution to the later seasons except, you know, inventing the world, the story and all the characters,” he said. “I believe I have more influence now [on ‘House of the Dragon’] than I did on the original show.”
Could There Have Been 10 or More Seasons?
I don’t know why Martin was not consulted on the show that was based on his series. He knows better than anyone what is supposed to happen and how to guide the characters to their destinations. As we saw, seasons 6 and 7 were rushed and we were given a lackluster conclusion to one of the biggest shows in the world.
With that said, I do think having 10 or more seasons is a difficult task to pull off for various reasons. I read that the directors of Game of Thrones David Benioff and DB Weiss wanted to wrap up the show and work on an upcoming Star Wars other project. Things ended up falling apart and they did not get that role.
Another issue is retaining a cast for that many seasons is difficult. Actors want to try new roles and don’t want to be cast as one character for too long. Besides that, another problem that would arise is a rise in salary. The longer a show goes on, the more expensive it is to retain the actors as they want a higher salary. Add that to the ridiculous amount of money HBO invested in the show and you can see how hard it would be to keep the show going for that long.
Conclusion
While I agree that the show should have gone on longer, I do not think it would have made it to 13 seasons. Seven seasons was not enough but even then, the show could have extended the seasons longer to make the ending better.
What do you make of this comment from Martin? Would it have been a realistic possibility or wishful thinking?
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