George R.R. Martin wanted at least 10 Game of Thrones seasons on HBO

Game of Thrones drew to an end after eight long-running seasons, but author George R.R. Martin wanted the series to last at least 10 seasons on HBO.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the man shared that he wanted more runtime to delve deeper into storytelling.

"I was saying it needs to be 10 seasons at least and maybe 12, 13. I lost that one," he said.

"I had no contribution to the later seasons except, you know, inventing the world, the story, and all the story. I believe I have more influence now [on House of the Dragons] than I did on the original show."

The lack of involvement is not surprising, considering how the events of Game of Thrones went past the storyline established by the books Martin has published thus far.

House of the Dragons, as the sequel to Game of Thrones, is based on the the latter's book Fire and Blood, so his insights would be useful and invaluable to the team.

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The 10-episode show is set 200 years before Game of Thrones, and tells the tale of how the Targaryens rose to power and claim the Iron Throne.

It stars Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Emma D'Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, The Sea Snake, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower.

House of the Dragons premiered yesterday (Aug 22) on HBO Max and HBO Go.

Meanwhile, a spin-off series focusing on Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) is set to arrive sometime in the near future.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.