Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin announced that he will add a twist to his next novel, The Winds of Winter. However, it will not appear in the TV show because the character was killed off.
In an interview with IGN, Martin said that he has decided to add the twist after years of deliberation.
“I have decided to do it. Will you know it? I don’t know," Martin revealed, notes The Guardian. "It is fairly obvious because it is something that involves a couple of characters, one of which is dead on the show, and not dead in the books. So the show can’t do it, unfortunately, because they have killed someone I have not killed.”
Last month, Martin revealed that he missed his Dec. 31 deadline that would have allowed the sixth A Song Of Ice And Fire novel to be published before the Game of Thrones series begins in April. The reason was because of “a lot of distractions in the last few years,” including the TV show . He has written a few episodes of the series and is an executive producer.
However, pn his blog, Martin says that he now will put all of his focus on his books. "I am not writing anything until I deliver WINDS OF WINTER. Teleplays, screenplays, short stories, introductions, forewords, nothing," he wrote. "And I've dropped all my editing projects but Wild Cards."
Martin also told concerned fans that the show won't spoil anything for the book. “Some of the ‘spoilers’ you may encounter in season six may not be spoilers at all…because the show and the books have diverged, and will continue to do so.”
Even with the confirmation of this twist, it doesn't narrow the possible characters, according to Hollywood Life.
"It doesn’t narrow it down much because at this point, there are like 15 characters who are dead on the show but not in the books. I get all this stuff about being bloody-minded, but (showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss) are bloodier than I am,” Martin said.
For fans, the release date is still a long wait, even though he is more focused on the novel.
“It is what it is, and ideally I wish I could hold up The Winds of Winter right now and tell everyone to go buy… It is still not done, so all I can do is continue to write it," Martin said.