Game Of Thrones: TV Show To End Before Books?

With a huge cast of characters, the increasingly complicated and interweaving plots of George R.R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, and awesomeness on an epic scale, we can't quite see how Game of Thrones will ever come to an end.

But show boss David Benioff has promised that he won't stretch the TV series.

We've always assumed that Game of Thrones will follow in line with Martin's plots, perhaps splitting future books between seasons to avoid the potential risk of the show catching up with the source material and giving the author time to complete his novels.

But in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Benioff insisted that won't be the case.

"We can't wait too long because of the kids," he said. "Everyone is getting bigger. We have this wonderful cast, but we don't have an infinite amount of time.

"We don't want to become a show that outstays its welcome and tries to turn each book into three seasons. Part of what we love about these books and the show is this sense of momentum and building toward something. If we tried to turn this into a ten-season show we'd strangle the golden goose."

Martin, meanwhile, said he isn't concerned by the potential TV show/book overlap, commenting: "I think the odds against that happening are very long.

"I still have a lead of several gigantic books. If they include everything in the books, I don't think they're going to catch up with me. If they do, we'll have some interesting discussions."

Martin is currently working on his sixth book, The Winds of Winter, and a seventh, A Dream of Spring, will follow, but it is not certain that he will have them finished by the time the HBO/Sky Atlantic drama is up to speed with the texts.

On the subject of The Winds of Winter's release, he added: "I'm working on it and it will be done when it's done. Hopefully it won't be as long of a wait as the last book."

HBO president Michael Lombardo also ruled out out a switch to the big screen for Game of Thrones, confirming that there are currently "no plans" to shift to movies for the later books.

Game of Thrones' third season concluded on Sky Atlantic last night.

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Martin: "I Want Game Of Thrones Readers To Be Afraid"

He might look kind of cuddly, but George R.R Martin is one of the most ruthless writers in fantasy.

We've seen him kill off countless characters in his epic fantasy series A Song Of Ice And Fire - and he's not even sorry.

Speaking to Conan O'Brien after the world (or, at least, those who hadn't read the books) was shocked by that Game of Thrones episode, Martin admitted he wants to keep his readers guessing.

"I always like the suspense to be real," the author explained. "I want my readers, my viewers to be afraid when my characters are in danger.

"I want them to be afraid to turn the next page, because the character may not survive it."

But Martin did admit that it has become harder to kill off his characters now that the series has been adapted for television.

"It's one thing to kill these characters when they're just... on paper, but when you actually meet the actors who portray them, and you know you're making people unemployed, it does bring up a certain amount of guilt," he laughed.

Yeah, we're reasonably certain that he's not going to let a little guilt get in the way.

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George R.R. Martin Teases Upcoming Character Deaths

We already know that George R.R. Martin isn't afraid to kill off a character or two - he's done it plenty in the past. And with only two books remaining in his Song Of Ice And Fire series, it comes as no surprise that the author plans to cut down his cast.

Speaking to SFX, the author revealed: “It’s my intention to cut down the number [of characters], so be afraid, be very afraid – your favourite may not survive the next book!”

So who's next for the chop? Daenerys? Jon Snow? Jaime Lannister? Surely some of the Greyjoys have got to meet their maker. And we don't think we'd be happy is the machiavellian Melisandre survived to the last.

Martin went on to discuss the TV series, the third season of which is currently airing on Sky Atlantic (Mondays, 9pm), and the difficulties of balancing his two audiences:

“There’s part of me that would like to be more involved with the television series, to write three or four scripts each season instead of just one, and to be on set every day,” he said. “But I still have two gigantic books to write and I can’t possibly take off time to do that. So the books are my babies.

“There are definitely two distinct audiences: the readers and the viewers. The readers have read the books first and some of them have practically memorised them. They’re watching the series now and in some ways they’re judging it through the prism of books. They’re very conscious of any deviation from what is in the books and of any changes or omissions, and they’re not necessarily pleased by those.

“On the other hand, there are the viewers who are watching the TV series first and then they may go on to read the books – or maybe they won’t… They’re just looking at it, as a TV series first, so their idea of the characters is pretty much the actors they see on TV, and the dialogue they see on TV is sort of canon to them. They’re looking through the other end of the telescope if you will, and sometimes the two different audiences have quite different reactions to a scene, a character or a particular plot development, and that’s fascinating as well.”

Check out the full interview in SFX's Game of Thrones bookazine, on sale now.

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Game Of Thrones Season 3 Premiere: The Q&A

Last night was a pretty special night for GG♥SF. 

We were invited by the lovely people at Sky Atlantic to the premiere of the third season of Game Of Thrones, at which we joined the cast to see the first episode and drank some lovely wine. 

We were also treated to a Q&A with cast members Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) and the totally brilliant Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), who we now want to meet and make friends with. 

For your benefit as much as theirs, Sky Atlantic have asked that we spoil nothing about the series' return - suffice to say it's a cracking premiere episode with the promise of much more cracking stuff to come. 

We can, however, share the strictly spoiler-free Q&A hosted by Grace Dent, in which the cast discuss their characters and what they love most about working on the show… and Ms Christie tells half of what sounds like a very interesting tale from the set... 


(Our audio player is pretty temperamental, so if you can't get it to work, click here to listen to the interview.)

Game of Thrones returns to HBO in the US on March 31 and will debut in the UK on Sky Atlantic a day later on April 1.

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Game Of Thrones: New Season 3 Trailer Unveiled

Our return to Westeros lies just around the corner and, as those who've read A Storm of Swords will know, Game Of Thrones Season 3 is set to be battletastic as the kings of Westeros continue to battle for power while Daenerys Targaryen continues her quest to reclaim her throne in the East. 

Season three of Game of Thrones premieres on March 31 in the US and will air in the UK on Sky Atlantic just one day later on April 1st.

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Game of Thrones: Ygritte Speaks

We love a feisty lady here at GG♥SF, and they don't come much feistier than Game Of Thrones' red-headed wilding Ygritte, who manages to save Jon Snow's life and seduce him to boot.

Ahead of the show's third season, actress Rose Leslie has been chatting to Access Hollywood about all things beyond The Wall - and her weapon of choice.

"I was so happy to be holding a bow and arrow. I was so happy about it because I just thought it embodied Ygritte, as to who she is, being such a fiercely independent character. She's powerful and strong and I felt that a bow and arrow fitted her beautifully… I was able to kind of do some archery lessons before just so I didn't look like a right numpty when I was drawing back the bow… just so that I looked a little bit authentic. But it is really cool. Oh, I loved it!"

Rose went on to discuss the wildlings' attraction to leader Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds): "He is strong and I feel that the kind of wildling community, because they are harsh and brutal, and of course, that is the environment that they have all been brought up in, you, as a wildling look up to that. And I think with Mance Rayder, because he is a turncloak and because he no longer wants to bend the knee, she has a huge amount of respect for him because she feels that he is now 100 percent on their side."

And also Mackenzie Crook's performance as the malevolent Orell: "He is absolutely incredible. He's such a lovely, lovely man. But, his character is incredibly different to who he is, obviously, which is a huge accolade to him. But Orell, oh, he's a nasty piece of work. He's vicious and he does not trust Jon Snow and not wanting to give too much away, he's incredibly loyal to who he is and his love of his people… and yeah, he's nasty!"

Game of Thrones returns in the US on March 31 on HBO. It follows in the UK one day later on Sky Atlantic.

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New Extended Game Of Thrones 3 Trailer

Sex, violence, betrayal and ominous portents such as "death is coming for everyone and everything"… what else could it be but the third season of Game of Thrones? 

And by The Old Gods it looks absolutely amazing. 

Hit play below for flying dragons, new footage of Cersei, Tyrion, Bran, Jon and Jaime… and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it glimpse at King Robb with his top off. 

Game of Thrones returns in the US on March 31 on HBO. It follows in the UK one day later on Sky Atlantic.

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Emilia Clarke "Excited" For Game Of Thrones Season 3

The first of April is no day for fools this year, unless you count the weirdos who won't be tuning in to the epic third season of Game of Thrones.

And you don't need to take our word for it. The Khaleesi herself, Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) is proper excited.

I've never in my life been more excited to see a season as season three," Clarke declared to Access Hollywood, adding: "It's gonna be good."

But the actress remained coy when questioned further on the secrets of the series, which is based on George R.R Martin's A Storm Of Swords.

"[There's] just so much more [drama]," she teased. "Well, from me, I'm not sure - [you'll] have to wait and see!"

Co-star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) also described the upcoming season as "amazing", though he admitted that he initially didn't have high hopes for the show.

The Danish actor revealed: "I read the script for the pilot and I thought, 'This is never gonna work' because it was so big and, you've seen the show - it's just so epic that you think, 'How are they gonna shoot this?' and even doing it, I go to work and I go, 'How the hell are they gonna do this?' because we have two full-sized units working, sometimes three, [and we shoot in] four different countries... It's a circus.

"I can say this much: I love doing that show," he continued. "It's just amazing, the writing is amazing.

"When we started, I was just praying we would make it to season three because that was my - that was the season... where everything - a lot of great things happen."

HBO premieres Game of Thrones' season three premiere on March 31 on HBO in the US and it will debut a day later on Sky Atlantic in the UK

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Game Of Thrones Season 3: A Brief Vid-Tease

Sadly, there are actual months to wait until the third season of Game Of Thrones hits screens. 

But HBO are doing their best to keep us pant-wettingly excited, nevertheless. 

The latest teaser trailer doesn't have much in the way of visuals, but features a sexy voice over lady telling us that a war must be won. 

"A great war is between death and life, ice and fire," she says. "If we lose, the night will never end." 

Ooh, our spines are positively tingling. 

Game Of Thrones return on March 31, 2013.

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Boromir Versus Ned Stark? Ooh… Interesting

We love a good theoretical game here at GG♥SF HQ. Imaginative outs of 'Would You Rather?' or 'Who Would Win?' are often played over lunch. But we bow to George R.R. Martin for coming up with the most debatable one yet. 

So who would win in a very Sean Bean-y face-off between his Lord of the Rings character Boromir, and Game of Thrones' Eddard Stark? 

It's a tough one, eh? And one we imagine could be debated for hours by fantasy fans. 

But for his part, Mr Martin has spoken. And he's come down on the side of Tolkien's man. 

"I think Boromir is probably more of a warrior than Ned was," the writer told MTV Geek during a wonderfully fun game of 'GRR Versus JRR'. "Ned was more of a lord, a ruler, a diplomat, a general." 

He added: "In simple physical one-on-one combat, Boromir probably [would win]." 

Ooh… we've got to say, we agree. 

Martin went on to bet that Jaime Lannister would best Aragorn in battle (hmm… not so sure, to be honest), that Smaug would beat Balerion, Saruman would kill off Melisandre and that Frodo would have no chance whatsoever against Tyrion (bit obvious, that).

 Check out the full video below. 

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Game of Thrones returns to HBO for a third season on March 31, 2013 and airs on Sky Atlantic in the UK.

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