George RR Martin has pledged not to contribute to a planned Game of Thrones prequel until his current, long-awaited book is finished.
The author said that while he would “love” to write an episode for House of the Dragon, a newly announced spin-off, his priority remains Winds of Winter, which will be the sixth volume in the book series that inspired Game of Thrones.
“Let me make this perfectly clear... I am not taking on any scripts until I have finished and delivered Winds of Winter,” Martin wrote on his blog after the House of the Dragon announcement.
“Winter is still coming, and Winds remains my priority, as much as I’d love to write an episode of House.”
The most recent tome in the A Song of Ice and Fire book series, which Winds of Winter belongs to, was released in 2011.
Fans have been waiting for the next volume ever since. In the meantime, Game of Thrones ended, long after the show’s writers ran out of source material from Martin’s novels.
Martin previously suggested he would be done with Winds of Winter by the summer of 2020.
It was announced earlier this week that House of the Dragon, a prequel focusing on the House Targaryen, has been ordered by HBO.
The news came not long after it was announced that the network had dropped another prequel starring Naomi Watts.
“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,“ Martin wrote of the cancellation.
“This was never an either/or situation. If television has room enough for multiple CSIs 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.
“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.”
