Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin doesn’t understand how fans can hate a series they once loved so much

Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin is one of the most accomplished writers of recent times. The success of the TV adaptation of his novels increased his number of readers exponentially. However, for nearly a decade, he hasn’t been able to write the next book in the novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, known as the ‘Winds of Winter‘. One of his greatest regrets regarding Game of Thrones is its controversial last season, which saw the fanbase divide into two and grow vicious against a franchise they once loved.

Three years have passed since the finale, and Martin still fails to understand why someone would hate a show so much, if they loved it to the same degree once. In a recent interview with The Independent, Martin said:

“I don’t understand how people can come to hate so much something that they once loved. If you don’t like a show, don’t watch it! How has everything become so toxic?”

He continued, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power isn’t even on yet [it will stream on Amazon in September], but if you follow what’s going on online, the controversy about it is like World War Two. They’re dropping atomic bombs on each other.”

“You hear controversies about some of the Marvel shows and the Marvel movies, certainly about the DC characters. It used to be if you were a fan of Star Trek, you liked Star Trek. Now it seems like half the people who call themselves Star Trek fans hate Star Trek, and the Star Wars fans hate Star Wars, and the Tolkien fans hate Rings of Power. What the hell? Now maybe it’s because it’s changing, but as a writer you’d go crazy if you didn’t change it somehow. You want to tell new stories, not tell the same stories over and over again.”

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