There was plenty of onscreen drama inHouse of the Dragonseason two : painful betrayals , fiery deaths , powerful awakenings , wanderings in the spirit world , Aemond being Aemond … you name it . But a behind - the - scenes tiff may have overshadowed them all , when source material author George R.R. Martin mouth out about his dissatisfaction withplot changesmade in HBO ’s adaptation . Withseason three ’s productionnow underway , there ’s no way showrunner Bryan Condal was n’t going to be asked about the controversy .
To recapitulate the kerfluffle , in July 2024 , Martin published a blog post praise a new increase toHouse of the Dragon . He sleep together that the show added a faithful dogto the assassin duo of descent and Cheese , though he couched it in a warning : “ I am not unremarkably a fan of screenwriters add persona to the informant textile when conform a story . Especially not when the source fabric is mine . ”
That same installment — the season two premiere , boast Blood and tall mallow offing King Aegon II Targaryen ’s todder - elderly heir to the Iron Throne — stuck in Martin ’s crop , however , due to a different alteration to that very episode , one he did n’t much care for . Another blog postwent up in Augustin which the author predict he ’d dig into “ everything that ’s gone wrong withHouse of the Dragon . ” Then , a few days later in former September , he talk the promised tea ina mail service that was swiftly cancel .
Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen in House of the Dragon.© Ollie Upton/HBO
As part of that now - scrubbed post , Martin say that he ’d promote back about the change initially , admit his headache about how altering event in time of year two will affect the futures of certain character reference down the line . A few days later , Condaldefended his choiceson HBO ’s officialHouse of the Dragonpodcast . A few days afterthat , Martin was asked to count in on the back - and - forth by the Hollywood Reporter , but or else took the chance to shower down kudos on another of HBO ’s Westeros - set adjustment of his employment , the upcomingA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms .
All ’s been quiet on that front since mid - September 2024 … until today . In a young interview withEntertainment Weekly , Condal enunciate he found Martin ’s criticism “ disappointing . ” He ’s manifestly still a fan ofA Song of Ice and Fire , and “ mould on the show has been truly one of the not bad exclusive right of , not only my career as a author , but my life as a fan of science - fabrication and phantasy . George himself is a memorial , a literary icon in addition to a personal hero of mine , and was heavily influential on me coming up as a author . ”
He also , again , defended the selection the show has made in transfer the body of work from pageboy to screen . Fire & Blood , he pointed out , is n’t written as a novel the way Martin’sA Game of Thronesand its sequels are . “ It ’s this uncomplete history and it requires a lot of joining of the dots and a caboodle of innovation as you go along the fashion . I will simply say , I made every endeavor to include George in the version process . I really did . Over year and age . And we really enjoyed a reciprocally fruitful , I guess , really strong coaction for a foresightful meter . ”
That ’s no longer the case , Condal say . “ At some detail , as we got deep down the route , he just became unwilling to admit the practical issues at hand in a reasonable way . And I imagine as a showrunner , I have to keep my practical producer hat on and my creative author , lover - of - the - material lid on at the same time . At the final stage of the day , I just have to keep marching not only the writing process forward , but also the hardheaded part of the operation forward for the sake of the gang , the cast , and for HBO , because that ’s my job . So I can only hope that George and I can rediscover that harmony someday . But that ’s what I have to say about it . ”
Head toEWto read more from Condal , include some tease about the battles and new character that ’ll come to the covert inHouse of the Dragonseason three .
Want more io9 news ? Check out when to wait the latestMarvel , Star Wars , andStar Trekreleases , what ’s next for theDC Universe on photographic film and TV , and everything you need to know about the next ofDoctor Who .
George R.R. MartinHBOHouse of the DragonRyan Condal
Daily Newsletter
Get the undecomposed tech , scientific discipline , and refinement news in your inbox daily .
News from the future tense , delivered to your present .
Please pick out your desired newssheet and submit your email to upgrade your inbox .
You May Also Like
