The recently concluded "Game of Thrones" Season 6 is the first season in the HBO series that featured some events that may or may not be in George R.R. Martin's famous book series. Cast member John Bradley has shared that despite the changes that may have annoyed some fans, all of it were done with the author's blessings.
When "Game of Thrones" first aired on HBO, the series' storyline remained true to Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" book series. However, when the show progressed to its second until fifth seasons, showrunners introduced a few twists and story plots that diverged from what the famous author has written. Given that the HBO series has caught up with all of Martin's books, the show's writers have had to come up with a storyline that may or may not be in Martin's upcoming new book. Bradley, who portrays Samwell Tarly in the series, has stated in an interview with The Iris, that the author has given his blessing on potential story changes.
Bradley commented that the novelist has always been involved with the HBO series. Martin is one of the producers of the show and has even participated in writing episodes for the TV series. The actor stated that despite the slight changes from the books, the whole story will still remain faithful to Martin's novels. "If there are some differences then you're always going to have the books anyway, but this is just an alternative for people who want the alternative as well," he added.
The actor also mentioned how the combination of story plots staying true to the books that were mixed with new ones has been a win-win formula. Many fans of the show have enjoyed the unpredictability of "Games of Thrones." Bradley stated that the books will always provide the fans a richer experience and a wealth of information. He explained that the books have more space to tell all the facts in a story as compared to a TV production were everything has to be condensed.
Meanwhile, showrunners David Benioff & D.B. Weiss both shared in an interview with Deadline that the journey to create the story for "Game of Thrones" Season 6 has been challenging. Weiss shared that Martin did provide them valuable information about the saga of beloved characters and critical events such as Hodor's reveal. However, many of the events in Season 6 were stories that were beyond the novelist's books.
Benioff also teased that they already have an idea of how the story will proceed in the upcoming new seasons. He even described it as a "strange phenomenon" given that they may not be able to rely on Martin's books especially after Season 6. However, he explained that some of the storyline details are already coming into focus especially with the anticipated finale of the HBO series.
Avid viewers of the show would have to wait until "Game of Thrones" returns to the small screens with its seventh season run to learn the fate of beloved characters. Meanwhile, relive one of the iconic scenes in the Season 6 finale episode of "Game of Thrones" in the video below: