It’s no secret that A Song of Ice and Fire scribe George R. R. Martin doesn’t even seem that interested in completing The Winds of Winter, the penultimate (haha, unless) novel in the saga that began with A Game of Thrones back in 1991. However, just for fun, let’s run through all of the things he’s been working on instead and what has transpired with ASOIAF as a franchise.
The most recently published volume in the ASOIAF series, A Dance with Dragons, was published on July 12, 2011, a few months after Game of Thrones Season 1 debuted on HBO. That year, “Khaleesi” debuts as a baby name in the United States according Social Security with 27 reported infants named after Daenerys Targaryen’s Dothraki title. That number is much higher today.
We’ve lived so many lives, not to mention presidential administrations, in the fifteen years that have passed. While GRRM has published some chapters on his infamous Not A Blog, there’s still no book. This isn’t even the last book he has planned, allegedly. After The Winds of Winter will come A Dream of Spring… and then what? We may never know.
A rough timeline of what’s happened IRL since the last book:
- The comic book adaptation of A Game of Thrones drops its first issue in September of 2011.
- The franchise’s first PC game, A Game of Thrones: Genesis, is released in 2011. A dozen video games have been released on multiple platforms between then and now with more to come. Listing every game would take all day, but there have also been tabletop games, card, games, RPGs, and TK.
- Game of Thrones Season 2 (2012)
- Martin publishes a collection of maps as a companion book called The Lands of Ice and Fire in 2012.
- Martin reads from several unpublished chapters of The Winds of Winter at a convention.
- Game of Thrones Season 3 (2013)
- Martin publishes the ASOIAF-set novella The Princess and the Queen about two characters fans would get to know very well on screen, Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen.
- Martin drops the Winds of Winter chapter “Arianne” as well as “Mercy” on his website.
- Martin publishes a companion book titled The Wit & Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister.
- Martin co-edits and writes the introduction to the science fiction anthology Old Mars.
- Game of Thrones Season 4 (2014)
- The comic book adaptation of A Game of Thrones drops its last issue in July of 2014.
- Also in 2014, Martin publishes the novellette The Rogue Prince, or, a King’s Brother about Viserys I, who you may recall from the future series House of the Dragon, is Rhaenyra’s father and Alicent’s husband.
- Martin publishes another companion book called The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones in 2014.
- Martin cameos in an episode of Robot Chicken.
- Game of Thrones Season 5 (2015)
- Martin cameos in Z Nation.
- Martin cameos in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
- Martin co-edits the science fiction anthology Old Venus.
- Martin drops the Winds of Winter chapter “Alayne” on his website.
- Game of Thrones Season 6 (2016)
- In 2016 and 2017, the first 27 children named “Khaleesi,” depending on when and where they were born, start kindergarten.
- HBO announces the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, that begins in 2017.
- Game of Thrones Season 7 (2017)
- The comic book adaptation of A Clash of Kings, a.k.a. Book 2, drops its first issue in June of 2017.
- Martin publishes a novella called The Sons of the Dragon about Aegon the Conquerer in 2017.
- Also in 2017, the Steven Soderbergh heist movie Logan Lucky starring Channing Tatum and Daniel Craig includes a joke about how Martin has not finished Winds of Winter. The entire world knows that the HBO series is now on its own without a source material to adapt.
- In 2018, the fictional “Westeros history book” Fire & Blood, that serves as the basis for House of the Dragon, hits bookstores everywhere.
- Game of Thrones Season 8 (2018)
- The series finale of the HBO series sparks a cultural conversation about, among other things, whether or not it was a good idea to name your baby Khaleesi.
- Nightflyers, based on a novella and series of short stories written by Martin, debuts on SyFy in 2018. It is canceled after one season in 2019.
- In 2019, a Game of Thrones museum opens in Croatia.
- In 2021, Belfast begins to offer a Game of Thrones studio tour.
- The comic book adaptation of A Clash of Kings drops its last issue in November of 2021.
- House of the Dragon Season 1 (2022)
- The first season of Dark Winds debuts on AMC. Martin is an executive producer.
- Martin publishes an encyclopedic companion book called The Rise of the Dragon in 2022.
- In 2023, Martin wins a Nebula Award for Game Writing on the RPG Elden Ring with Hidetaka Miyazaki. He started doing world building work on the series in 2022.
- House of the Dragon Season 2 (2024)
- Between 2024 and 2025, the first 27 children named “Khaleesi,” depending on when and where they were born, start high school.
- Martin cameos in Dark Winds Season 3, Episode 1. The series is ongoing, by the way.
- In the Lost Lands, a film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson based on a GRRM short story published in 1982, was allegedly released in 2025. It starred Dave Bautista and Milla Jovovich, apparently? You can stream it on Hulu? This is all news to me!
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 (2026)
- House of the Dragon Season 3 (2026)
- Finally, the Royal Shakespeare Company recently announced that a play called The Mad King will open this summer in Stratford-upon-Avon. This is how fans are first going to see Robert’s Rebellion adapted? On a stage in William Shakespeare’s home town? Are we being for real? Playwright Duncan Macmillan, whose credits include Lungs and Every Brilliant Thing, is writing the adaptation of this story. There’s no news yet about casting, a run in London and/or New York, or a professional recording–though, if all goes well, I personally wouldn’t be too worried.
All of that, and still no Winds of Winter. It’s not like you can say that Martin and the franchise are doing nothing, but still! If you comb through IMDb and the internet at large, you’ll find even more things that are aiding and abetting the man’s procrastination. And if he doesn’t want to do it, then he doesn’t want to do it! We clearly can’t force him.
He’s also talked about wanting to write more Dunk and Egg (love them) stories! Follow your bliss, king. It might be time to give up the Ghost. We’re not seeing that book until the first graduating class of Khaleesis gets their high school diplomas, or later.
(featured image: Steffan Hill/HBO)
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