'Game of Thrones' books could have different ending than TV show

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Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner share a laught as they attend the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Sean Bean, who plays Eddard "Ned" Stark, attends the "Game Of Thrones" Season 8 Premiere on April 03, 2019 in New York City.
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Charles Dance, who plays Tywin Lannister, attends the "Game Of Thrones" season 8 premiere on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Jerome Flynn, who plays Bronn, attends the "Game Of Thrones" season 8 premiere on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Jack Gleeson, who plays Joffrey Baratheon, attends the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Mark Addy, who plays Robert Baratheon, attends the "Game Of Thrones" Season 8 Premiere on April 03, 2019 in New York.
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Newlyweds and co-stars Rose Leslie and Kit Harington attend the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Sibel Kekilli, who plays Shae, attends the "Game Of Thrones" Season 8 Premiere on April 03, 2019 in New York.
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Scottish actress Rose Leslie, who plays Ygritte, arrives for the "Game of Thrones" eighth and final season premiere at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Danish actor Pilou Asbæk, who plays Euron Greyjoy, arrives for the "Game of Thrones" eighth and final season premiere at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York.
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Author George R.R. Martin arrives at the premiere for the third season of the HBO series "Game of Thrones" at the TCL Chinese Theatre on March 18, 2013, in Los Angeles.
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Maisie Williams (l) and Sophie Turner (r), who plays sisters Arya and Sansa Stark, arrive for the "Game of Thrones" eighth and final season premiere at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York.
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Natalie Dormer, who plays Margaery Tyrell, attends the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Alfie Allen, who plays Theon Greyjoy, attends the premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne of Tarth, looks stunning on the red carpet at the NYC premiere of "Game of Thrones."
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Liam Cunningham, who plays Davos Seaworth, attends the "Game Of Thrones" Season 8 Premiere on April 03, 2019 in New York City.
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Lisa Bonet and husband Jason Momoa, who plays Khal Drogo, attend the "Game Of Thrones" season 8 premiere on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Indira Varma, who plays Ellaria Sand, and Pedro Pascal attend the premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Kristian Nairn (r), who plays Hodor, attends the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Jacob Anderson, who plays Grey Worm, attends the "Game Of Thrones" Season 8 Premiere on April 03, 2019 in New York.
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Chilean actor Pedro Pascal, who plays Oberyn Martell, has some fun on the red carpet for the "Game of Thrones" premiere in NYC.
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Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, attends the "Game Of Thrones" season 8 premiere on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Dutch actress Carice van Houten, who plays Melisandre, arrives for the "Game of Thrones" eighth and final season premiere at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York.
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Show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss attend the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Rory McCann, who plays Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, attends the "Game Of Thrones" Season 8 Premiere on April 03, 2019 in New York City.
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Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime Lannister, arrives for the "Game of Thrones" eighth and final season premiere at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York.
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Sophie Turner, who plays Sanas Stark, and fiance Joe Jonas arrive for the "Game of Thrones" eighth and final season premiere at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York.
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Camille O'Sullivan and Aidan Gillen, who plays Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, attend the "Game Of Thrones" Season 8 Premiere on April 03, 2019 in New York City.
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Author George R.R. Martin attends the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, and his wife Erica Schmidt arrive for the "Game of Thrones" final season premiere at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019.
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Isaac Hempstead Wright, who plays Bran Stark, attends the "Game Of Thrones" Season 8 Premiere on April 03, 2019 in New York City.
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Joe Dempsie, who plays Gendry, attends the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Jonathan Pryce, who plays High Sparrow, attends the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Emilia Clarke, "Mother of Dragons," looks stunning in blue at the "Game Of Thrones" season 8 premiere on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Esme Bianco, who plays Ros, attends the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Icelandic actor Hafpor Julius Björnsson, who plays Gregor Clegane, and Pedro Pascal, who plays Oberyn Martell, have some fun at the "Game Of Thrones" season 8 premiere on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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John Bradley, who plays Samwell Tarly, attends the "Game Of Thrones" Season 8 Premiere on April 03, 2019 in New York City.
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Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, looks dapper in all-black at the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Iain Glen, who plays Jorah Mormont, attends the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Jason Momoa, who plays Khal Drogo, looks dapper in a pink jacket for the "Game of Thrones" eighth and final season premiere at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York.
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Hannah Murray, who plays Gilly, attends the "Game Of Thrones" season 8 premiere on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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British actresses Gwendoline Christie (l), who plays Brienne of Tarth, and Nathalie Emmanuel (r), who plays Missandei, arrive for the "Game of Thrones" eighth and final season premiere at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Conleth Hill, who plays Lord Varys, attends the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.
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Daniel Portman, who plays Podrick Payne, attends the Season 8 premiere of "Game of Thrones" at Radio City Music Hall on April 3, 2019 in New York City.

By David Matthews | dmatthews@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News

PUBLISHED: January 24, 2020 at 1:59 p.m. | UPDATED: January 25, 2020 at 4:43 a.m.

HBO’s epic “Game of Thrones” series concluded in 2019 to mixed reviews and complaints that the final season was rushed.

Fans reacted to the ending of the show in a number of ways, including a petition for a do-over with new writers. While that is unlikely to ever materialize, fans can take solace that there are still two books to go in the series and writer George R.R. Martin wants them to know the ending might differ from the show.

In an interview with German newspaper Welt, Martin cheekily said “The Winds of Winter” and “A Dream of Spring” might not unfold like the TV show.

“People know an ending — but not the ending,” Martin said. “The makers of the TV show had overtaken me, which I didn’t expect.”

Martin added that the final season of the show wasn’t “completely faithful” to his planned ending.

Writing on his personal website after the finale aired in May, Martin said he expected the final two books to be at least “3000 manuscript pages between them,” which will give him the opportunity to conclude story arcs for characters who never appeared on the show.

While fans wait for Martin to finish writing his books, they can daydream about another road not taken. In the interview with Welt, Martin said that series showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss “wanted to end” the series with a movie trilogy “after the seventh season.” However, HBO decided against that idea.

“At this point in time, it wouldn’t be for me to decide, because HBO controls the film rights for ‘Game of Thrones,'” Martin said. “David Benioff and D.B. Weiss actually wanted to end the saga after the seventh season with three big movies… The executives said, ‘We produce TV shows, we are not in the cinema business.'”