George RR Martin was 'out of the loop' on 'Game of Thrones' from season five

Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin has revealed that he was "out of the loop" when it came to the TV show from season five onwards.

The fifth season, which aired in 2015, primarily adapted the fourth and fifth novels in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series — A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons.

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However, the show also began to expand beyond Martin's books at this stage, moving on to material which draws on the author's unpublished sixth instalment The Winds of Winter.

Martin, who is currently promoting spin-off prequel series House of the Dragon, explained in an interview with the New York Times that his involvement in the show greatly diminished from that point.

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"By season five and six — and certainly seven and eight — I was pretty much out of the loop," Martin said.

When pressed further, Martin directed the reporter to ask Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, who subsequently declined to comment.

Read more: How does House of the Dragon link to Game of Thrones?

Martin is significantly more involved with House of the Dragon, which follows the Targaryen clan and is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.

He had a hand in selecting writer Ryan Condal as showrunner alongside Thrones veteran Miguel Sapochnik, remaining a close collaborator throughout the process of making the show, which debuts this month.

Martin confirmed in the article that he is still working hard on The Winds of Winter — after previously hailing 2020 has his most productive year — and promised that "my ending will be very different" to the controversial conclusion put forward by the TV show.

The show concluded with Bran Stark on the Iron Throne, following the death of Daenerys Targaryen in the wake of her violent and merciless attack on King's Landing.

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The ongoing delays to The Winds of Winter have become a source of frustration among A Song of Ice and Fire fans, with more than a decade having passed since the last book was published.

House of the Dragon, which stars Paddy Considine and Matt Smith, will debut on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the States on 21 August.

Watch: Trailer for House of the Dragon