HBO chief responds to George R. R. Martin’s digs at ‘House of the Dragon’

The landlord of the House of the Dragon has spoken.

HBO chief Casey Bloys addressed the network’s creative partnership with best-selling fantasy author George R.R. Martin on Tuesday, weeks after the Game of Thrones mastermind wrote and quickly deleted a blog post that questioned some of the decision making on the show’s high-profile spinoff.

“We love George, obviously,” Bloys told reporters during a 2025 preview event. “George and Game of Thrones really changed the course of HBO, had a huge impact on it, so I want him to be happy. He’s very important to me, to us.”

But, he added, “When we put shows together, we’re in a marriage together, and marriages can be difficult. Especially when [House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal] is making creative decisions adapting work, it can be fraught, and like any marriage, sometimes it gets rocky. Would I prefer that everybody get along and it goes well? Of course, but it’s a creative process. It’s always going to have its bumps, and it’s to be expected.”

A spokesperson for Martin didn’t immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly‘s request for comment on Bloys’ remarks.

Back in September, Martin expressed concern on his blog about the potential “butterfly effect” that could result from House of the Dragon departing from his source material, the 2018 book Fire & Blood. The week before, he had also signaled that he intended to publish his thoughts on “everything that’s gone wrong with House of the Dragon.” But he never went through with the latter post, and deleted the “butterfly effect” post shortly after publication.

An HBO spokesperson said at the time, “There are few greater fans of George R.R. Martin and his book Fire & Blood than the creative team on House of the Dragon, both in production and at HBO. Commonly, when adapting a book for the screen, with its own format and limitations, the showrunner ultimately is required to make difficult choices about the characters and stories the audience will follow.”

The statement also expressed hope that “the millions of fans the series” would be happy with what Condal and his team have cooking for season 3.

Over the years Martin has been measured but not totally silent about his issues with how his books have been translated to the screen. In 2022 he told the New York Times that he grew estranged from Game of the Thrones and “was pretty much out of the loop” by the latter seasons, despite being an executive producer and writing several major episodes.

He has also penned blog posts critical of GOT and spoken in interviews about what he thinks went right and what he thinks went wrong.

But as Bloys’ comments underscored, HBO and Martin don’t appear to be headed for a split anytime soon. There are multiple Game of Thrones spinoff projects in the works, including a movie that’s in the early stages of development.

Discussing the movie project, Bloys said Tuesday, “I think it could be fun and interesting. That’s the point of development: You see, is there a story that’s worthy of being in theaters and a big spectacle? I think it would be fun.”

—With reporting from Sydney Bucksbaum