George R R Martin NOW Says ‘Game of Thrones’ TV Ending “Not That Different” Than Book’s

It seems like George R. R. Martin is changing a bit of his tune when it comes to the ending of HBO’s Game of Thrones tv show vs. his source material books. Originally Martin said that the end of the written book series would be different from the show’s, and both David Benioff and Dan Weiss had agreed to not point out any of the differences until waaaaaay war into the future.

Just this weekend, Martin spoke with 60 Minutes about the series ending, and just how different the two endings will be.

“I don’t think Dan and Dave’s ending is gonna be that different from my ending because of the conversations we did have,” Martin told the news program. “But on certain secondary characters there may be big differences. We’re talking here about several days of story conferences taking place in my home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. But there’s no way to get in all the detail, all the minor characters, all the secondary characters.”

Martin DOES think the series has been “extremely faithful compared to 97% of all television and movie adaptations of literary properties. But it’s not completely faithful. And it can’t be. Otherwise, it would have to run another five seasons.”

As to the ending?

“There will be a debate, I’m sure. I think [there will be] a lot of people who will say ‘Oh, Dan and Dave’s ending is better than the one George gave us. It’s a good thing they changed it.’ And there will be a lot of people who say, ‘No, Dan and Dave got it wrong. George’s ending is better.’ And they will all fight on the internet, and there will be debate. And that’s fine. You know, the worst thing for any work of art, be it a movie or a book, is to be ignored.”

Needless to say, we’re anxiously awaiting the kickoff of season 8 TONIGHT on HBO.