The end is nigh for Game of Thrones, with the fantasy phenomenon set to conclude next year after eight series. Yet original author George RR Martin disagrees with showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' decision to end it there, and instead thinks the song of ice and fire could have gone on for a further five seasons.

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“We could’ve gone 11, 12, 13 seasons" he told Variety. "David and Dan have been saying for like five seasons that seven seasons is all they would go. We got them to go to eight but not any more than that. There was a period like five years ago when they were saying seven seasons and I was saying 10 seasons and they won. They’re the ones actually working on it.”

But not to fear, there will be plenty more Game of Thrones to come. The author revealed that, “five other shows, five prequels [are] in development that are based on other periods and the history of Westeros — some of them just 100 years before Game of Thrones, some of them 5,000 years before Game of Thrones.”

Yet he also punched the breaks on the possibility that any of those prequels will focus on the current cast, saying that the actors will probably want to move on to other things.

“I know all of the actors, as great as they are, all the actors are anxious to get on and play other roles,” Martin said. “They don’t want to spend their entire lives playing one role and that’s fine, that’s great, we had such an amazing cast.”

Game of Thrones won big at the 2018 Emmys, claiming outstanding drama series alongside awards for its makeup, costumes, music composition and stunt coordination. Peter Dinklage also won Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his role as Tyrion Lannister.

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Game of Thrones series eight will air sometime next year

Authors

Stephen Kelly is a freelance culture and science journalist. He oversees BBC Science Focus's Popcorn Science feature, where every month we get an expert to weigh in on the plausibility of a newly released TV show or film. Beyond BBC Science Focus, he has written for such publications as The Guardian, The Telegraph, The I, BBC Culture, Wired, Total Film, Radio Times and Entertainment Weekly. He is a big fan of Studio Ghibli movies, the apparent football team Tottenham Hotspur and writing short biographies in the third person.

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