George RR Martin has given a more specific idea of where exactly he is with The Winds of Winter, which he’s been writing for over a decade. The Game of Thrones television series famously had to essentially make up the story for the last two seasons, as it was clear that Martin would not be done with the book series any time soon. This led to a highly controversial final season which left fans largely disappointed.
Speaking on Stephen Colbert’s podcast, Martin said that he has officially finished around “1, 100 to 1,200” pages and that he has “another 400, 500 pages” to finish before he concludes the novel. Martin also cites “writer’s constipation” as the reason for the long wait. If this is true, it means he’s been working at an average pace of 100 pages per year.
Kit Harington has pitched a Jon Snow spin-off to both Martin and HBO, but it has not been confirmed whether it’s going ahead. The huge success of House of the Dragon clearly shows that there’s still a massive appetite for all things Games of Thrones.
Martin wrote a lengthy blog-post in the summer regarding four Game of Thrones spin-offs that are in development; “There are four live-action successor shows in development at HBO. Word got out about three of them some time ago. Ten Thousand Ships – the Nymeria show – helmed by Amanda Segel. Sea Snake with Bruno Heller. And the Dunk & Egg show – The Hedge Knight – with Steve Conrad writing.” Martin continued; “Snow has been in development almost as long as the other three, but for whatever reason it was never announced and it never leaked… until now.”
Martin continued; “Various rumours are floating around about my involvement, or lack of same [in the planned Jon Snow spin-off]. I am involved, just as I am with The Hedge Knight, The Sea Snake, Ten Thousand Ships, and all the animated shows.”
Martin cautioned that all four shows are unlikely to go to series; “All four of these successor shows are still in the script stage. Outlines have been written and approved, scripts have been written…so far, that’s all. This is the way television works. Please note: nothing has been greenlit yet, and there is no guarantee when or if it will be… on any of these shows. The likelihood of all four series getting on the air… well, I’d love it, but that’s not the way it works, usually.”
While we wait for more news on the various planned spin-offs, as well as whether The Winds of Winter will ever be published, check out our guide to The Song of Ice and Fire prophecy and the Targaryen family tree.