‘The Winds of Winter’ Release Date, Spoilers: George R. R. Martin Almost Changed How the Series Ends

It has been another year without the official release of “The Winds of Winter” happening. But, at least, 2018 is ending with the positive news that the said book is now the no. 1 priority for author George R.R. Martin.

“The Winds of Winter” is part of the world-renowned book saga “A Song of Ice and Fire” which was also adapted into the phenomenal TV hit “Game of Thrones.” Even though it is one of the most complex pop culture series, its avid supporters proved to be some of the smartest fans out there.

In fact, Martin previously admitted there was a time when he considered changing the direction of “The Winds of Winter” because some fans have already figured out the most likely ending. It can be recalled in a 2014 interview with the Telegraph, the author expressed how he feels about fan theories and also confirmed that some of them have actually cracked the code.

For starters, Martin said he also hates a “predictable” narrative like many sci-fi fans. Needless to say, Martin is very successful at doing that. But he also confirmed that “at least one or two readers” successfully figured out the correct formula. Though the author did not explicitly mention “The Winds of Winter,” but the interview was published during the long-running hiatus since “A Dance with Dragons.”

Moving forward with “The Winds of Winter,” Martin confirmed that a couple of very smart readers successfully “put together the extremely subtle and obscure clues that I'd planted in the books and came to the right solution.” And this almost convinced him to shake up the storyline he originally had in mind.

"I wrestled with that issue and I came to the conclusion that changing it would be a disaster because the clues were there,” said the author of “The Winds of Winter.” "You can't do that, so I'm just going to go ahead.”

Meanwhile, the latest update on the progress of “The Winds of Winter” came from Martin himself. In one of his recent LiveJournal posts, he confirmed that he has gone to his “fortress of solitude” to focus on finishing the sixth installment. And to those doubting that Martin will not be able to finish the series, he declared: “It won’t be tomorrow, and it won’t be next week, but you will get the end of ‘A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE.’”