George R.R. Martin Allegedly 'Begged' An HBO Executive To Extend 'Game Of Thrones' To 10 Seasons

HBO's hit series "Game of Thrones" ended with two shorter seasons in 2019, bringing the total number of seasons and episodes to eight. According to a new book, the story's original inventor, author George R.R. Martin, pushed for up to 10 seasons and 100 total episodes.

A book titled "Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers" – by journalist James Andrew Miller – contains new stories of Martin's wishes.

Martin, Martin's agent Paul Haas, and Richard Plepler, HBO's former CEO, were among the 757 people interviewed by Miller for the book.

"George would fly to New York to have lunch with Plepler, to beg him to do ten seasons of ten episodes because there was enough material for it, and to tell him it would be a more satisfying and more entertaining experience," Haas told Miller.

Martin previously stated that "Game of Thrones" could have gone on for several more years. Martin told Variety in 2018 that he didn't understand why the program was ending after season eight because there was enough content for 13 seasons. However, Haas' statements in "Tinderbox" are the first descriptions of Martin requesting extra seasons from HBO.

"Dan and Dave were tired, rightfully so," Haas said in Miller's book. "They were done and wanted to move on, so they cut it short, and then negotiations became, how many seasons can we stretch this out? Because, of course, HBO wanted more."

Haas added: "George loves Dan and Dave, but after season five, he did start to worry about the path they were going because George knows where the story goes. He started saying, 'You're not following my template.'"

"A Song of Ice and Fire," the novel series on which "Game of Thrones" is based, is still unfinished. Only the first five of Martin's intended seven novels have been published. He's been working on "The Winds of Winter," his sixth book, for nearly a decade.

HBO "thought the last season delivered on its promise to fans, but more crucially it executed the vision for the ending that Dan and Dave had planned so carefully," according to Bloys in Miller's book.

Bloys went on to say that he understood why some fans were upset by Daenerys Targaryen's transformation to war crimes in the final episodes.

Martin, for one, told Miller that "Game of Thrones" transformed his life "mainly for the better, but in some ways for the worst."

Martin has been keeping book readers updated on the progress of "The Winds of Winter," but no release date has been set.

NME said Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Paddy Considine, and Rhys Ifans are among the cast members of the program, which is one of six currently in development.

Seven more cast members were added to the show's ensemble last month. Ryan Corr, Jefferson Hall (Vikings, Devs), David Horovitch, Graham McTavish (The Witcher, Outlander), Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson (Fleabag), and Gavin Spokes all joined the series as characters from the original Game Of Thrones show.