“Game of Thrones” has served has the reigning champion for HBO since the series premiered in April of 2011. With the largest ensemble cast on television, it is most certainly one of the more grandiose productions to ever grace the small screen, but George R.R. Martin, author of “A Song of Ice and Fire,” the epic book series that inspired the hugely popular television show thinks that it may have finally outgrown its roots. Based on his interview with the Hollywood Reporter, it certainly seems like “Game of Thrones” making the leap to the silver screen is not out of the realm of possibilities, mainly based on the fact that there is so much story left to tell. Martin stated at the show’s Season 4 premiere that a “Game of Thrones” film “all depends on how long the main series runs.” Show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss stated that the series will run for seven seasons, claiming that the forthcoming Season 4 will serve as the midway point for the series. The HBO show runners, stated that seven seasons was their goal from the beginning, however unrealistic at the show's inception, “I would say it’s the goal we’ve had from the beginning. It was our unstated goal, because to start on a show and say your goal is seven seasons is the height of lunacy. Once we got to the point where we felt like we’re going to be able to tell this tale to its conclusion, that became [an even clearer] goal. Seven gods, seven kingdoms, seven seasons. It feels right to us,” Benioff said. And while Benioff and Weiss feel satisfied with wrapping up the story in seven Seasons, it doesn’t seem like Martin, who is the end all and be all deciding factor due to the fact that the story isn’t even completed yet, is on board with having the story come to a close in seven seasons. Martin said, "Do we run for seven years? Do we run for eight? Do we run for 10? The books get bigger and bigger. It might need a feature to tie things up, something with a feature budget, like $100 million for two hours. Those dragons get real big, you know." We like the way Martin is thinking, considering it seems nearly impossible to tell the full epic story of “A Song of Ice and Fire” with only three more season of content, even more impossible considering there is not a definite ending yet. Season 4 of “Game of Thrones” is adapted from the second half of “A Storm of Swords” which marks the third book in the seven book series, while the plan is to combine aspects of both book four and five into the forthcoming installment, it seems unlikely that the story from four huge novels could be concluded in three seasons comprised of 10 episodes each. With both “The Winds of Winter” and “A Dream Of Spring” still forthcoming it is unlikely that the show runners even know how to fit all of the details into the final three seasons. Fans have already seen in the promo videos for Season 4, that plot lines from multiple books are colliding, no longer is the show staying strict to what happens in each installment, instead multiple plotlines from varying points in the books are being combined into one season. But with two books still unreleased and two books, “A Feast For Crows” and “A Dance with Dragons” still to cover the timeline seems rushed.
It seems highly unlikely that HBO would be willing to allow the long anticipated conclusion to the series to be moved into the box office, however we have seen past popular shows spawn movies. “Sex and the City” ran for an impressive six seasons and has had two post productions box office hits. In addition to the success of “Sex and the City” feature films, HBO has recently began production on the long awaited “Entourage” movie. The main difference between a feature film that Martin is purposing and these examples, is that both of the series were off the air for years, therefore the films served as more of a revival rather than the ultimate conclusion. Although there is hope still for a “Game of Thrones” film, most likely it just wouldn’t be the main plotline, in addition to “A Song of Ice and Fire” Martin has written a small series of three novellas that serve as prequels to the main timeline fans know and love. "Tales of Dunk and Egg," are candidates for big-screen treatment. "They could be the basis for [a film]," Martin said. "I have written these three stories, and I have about a dozen more."
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