George R.R. Martin shares support for writers’ strike and reveals how it will effect ‘House of the Dragon’

Image via HBO Max

George R.R. Martin has voiced his support for the ongoing writers’ strike, and spoken on the implications it will have for House of the Dragon‘s second season.

Taking to his personal blog, Martin declared his “full and complete and unequivocal support” for the Writers Guild of America, which first launched its strike action and picket lines on May 2.  The novelist and screenwriter went on to recall his participation in the writer’s strike of 1988, but said that this year’s “issues are more important… and I have never seen the Guild so united as it is now.”

Martin warned that the strike could continue for some time, and commented on its impact on a show’s ability to “be changed, cut [or] added to” in the meantime. The screenwriter spoke specifically to the strike’s implications for his own shows, confirming that House of the Dragon — the HBO prequel series to Game of Thrones — will be largely unaffected by the strike, since episode scripts “were all finished months ago, long before the strike began,” Martin wrote. 

“The second season of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON started filming April 11 and will continue in London and Wales,” Martin explained. “Every episode has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions, to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc.” The screenwriter concluded the update by confirming that the House of the Dragon scripts will undergo “no further revisions,” with the series now “in the hands of the directors, cast, and crew… and of course the dragons.” 

Martin elsewhere updated fans on the effect of the strike on his various other titles, including Dark Winds, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, and Winds of Winter. Regarding the lattermost title, Martin said the planned upcoming book remains “priority number one” and is unaffected by the WGA strike since the guild has “nothing to do with novels, short stories, or any other form of prose fiction.” 

Dark Winds, meanwhile, has already wrapped its second season, so will premiere “sometime this summer” without hurdles from the strike. The strike action has, however, impacted HBO’s upcoming show A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, which Martin said has closed its writer’s room as writer “Ira Parker and his incredible staff of young talents are on the picket lines.” 

Martin joins fellow stars Seth Meyers, Pete Davidson, Patricia Arquette and Amanda Seyfriend in voicing support for the writers’ strike.