George RR Martin hopes House of the Dragon 'succeeds more' than the Lord of the Rings show

George RR Martin has offered his opinion on the perceived rivalry between Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon and the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV show.

Speaking to The Independent at the Santa Fe Literary Festival, the Game of Thrones creator appeared to wish the Lord of the Rings show well.

He said: “If they win six Emmys, and I hope they do, I hope we win seven.”

Read more: House of the Dragon: New trailer for Game of Thrones prequel series

Martin also talked down any rivalry between the two shows which will air on competing streaming services: “I know a lot of articles, the minute the dates were announced, it’s: ‘Oh, the battle for fantasy supremacy. It’s Rings of Power versus House of Dragon, who will win?’

"I don’t know why they always have to do that.”

He added: “I hope both shows succeed. I’m competitive enough. I hope we succeed more. If they win six Emmys, and I hope they do, I hope we win seven. But nonetheless, it’s good for fantasy. I love fantasy. I love science fiction. I want more shows on television.”

Martin also commented more directly on the Tolkien inspired show which is entitled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and will premiere on Amazon on 2 September.

He offered his thoughts on Amazon buying the rights to JRR Tolkien's work saying: “It’s kind of a weird deal, as you know.

"Amazon bought Tolkien, but they didn’t actually get any of the books. They didn’t get Lord of the Rings, they didn’t get The Hobbit, they didn’t even get The Silmarillion.

"I don’t think they got Farmer Giles of Ham or Leaf by Niggle, but they got the appendices, I guess, and they’re constructing a Second Age story about that. There’s a lot of myth about that, so it’ll be interesting to see what they did.”

House of the Dragon is set to premiere on HBO and Sky Atlantic/NOW on 21 August and serves as a prequel to Game of Thrones.

It will star Matt Smith, Paddy Considine and Olivia Cooke among many others across its ensemble cast.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will debut the following month and stars Robert Aramayo who is best known for his role as a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones.

Watch below: House of the Dragon trailer