Brandon Sanderson Reveals Why He’d Never Take Over Game of Thrones

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Published Sep 17, 2026, 1:31 PM EDT

The Cosmere author says he's not the person to finish George R.R. Martin's fantasy series

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The wait for The Winds of Winter, the planned sixth novel of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, is one of the hottest topics of conversation amongst fans. HBO's Game of Thrones diverged from the books in later seasons because Martin's story wasn't complete. Almost a decade ago, Steven Soderbergh made an extended joke about it in his film Logan Lucky. Some fans are starting to worry that Martin will die before delivering The Winds of Winter, and that another writer would need to complete the series. Brandon Sanderson says that, if that need ever arises, he won't be the man for the job.

Sanderson is a prolific fantasy author in his own right, best known for the Mistborn and Stormlight Archive books that take place in his Cosmere universe. But Sanderson gained mainstream popularity when he was chosen to complete The Wheel of Time series following author Robert Jordan's death. This, some feel, makes him the perfect fit to pick up where Martin left off in the unfortunate circumstance of his death. Sanderson disagrees, telling IGN in a recent interview, "Respectfully, I'm the wrong person to do this." He continued, "If George decided to go that direction, he'd deserve someone who is as good a fit for his world as I was for Wheel of Time. That said, I don't think George wants to go that direction, so let's just support him in writing his books at the speed he's capable of going."

Sanderson goes on to interrogate the belief that fans deserve a conclusion to the series. In Sanderson's opinion, Martin doesn't actually owe people books. What he does owe his fans is a dedicated effort into producing those books. "It's not, however, my job to determine if George has made that effort or not. My gut says that he has."

What is the latest update on The Winds of Winter?

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Martin has been working on The Winds of Winter since before A Dance with Dragons was published in 2011. In 2025, he described it as the curse of his life. As of January of this year, Martin shared that he is still working on the book and has completed over 1,000 pages. He has still not shared a timeline on when the book will be released.

To make matters worse, The Winds of Winter isn't even the conclusion to the series. Martin has said he plans to write a seventh book that will serve as the finale, titled A Dream of Spring. Considering how long the wait for the sixth book has been, fans won't hold their breath for the release of A Dream of Spring this decade.

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