George R. R. Martin has yet to complete his medieval fantasy saga series A Song of Ice and Fire, which started with Game of Thrones in 1996. As the HBO series of the same name charges on, fans of both the books and the TV show wonder how Martin plans to wrap up the epic story he’s been telling for 18 years.

George R. R. Martin Talks 'Song Of Ice & Fire'

Earlier this week, the rumor mill suggested that Martin would be penning a total of eight books instead of the planned seven. Martin, who has written five books thus far, has more or less shot such rumors down. As of yet, he’s still aiming to culminate the Song of Ice and Fire series in seven novels – but he's wary of giving any definite answers.

“My plan is to finish in seven. But my original plan was to finish in three,” Martin told Entertainment Weekly. “I write the stories and they grow. I deal with certain things and sometimes I find myself not at the end of a story. My plan right now is still seven. But first I have to finish Book Six. Get back to me when I’m half-way through Book Seven and then maybe I’ll tell you something more meaningful.”

Martin On 'Game Of Thrones' Adaptation

As for HBO’s adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin suspects that the network will need more than seven seasons to cover the material of his books. One solution to the foreseeable content problem is shifting Game of Thrones from the small screen to the big screen. The solution would both allow Martin more flexibility in terms of time to finish the books, as well as give producers more resources to capture the magnitude of Martin’s tale.

“I don’t think [seven seasons] will be enough to tell the story we’re telling in the books,” said Martin. “Ever since I heard that idea [of feature films] I’ve been both excited by it — I think it would be great — and I’ve been skeptical about it because I’ve heard of a number of other shows that were [supposedly going to have movies] like Deadwood, Rome and even The Sopranos, and the only one I’ve actually seen is Sex and the City.”

Game of Thrones will air the penultimate episode of its fourth season – which will feature a battle between the Wildlings and the Night’s Watch – on Sunday, June 8.

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