George RR Martin Is Three-Quarters Finished With 'Winds Of Winter'

George R.R. Martin revealed that he is about 75% of the way finished with the "Winds of Winter."

"Winds" is the planned sixth installment of the novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire," the source material for HBO's "Game of Thrones."

“I think it’s going to be a very big book , and I think I’m about three-quarters of the way done,” Martin told Stephen Colbert last week. “The characters all interweave and I’m actually finished with a couple of the characters, but not others. I have to finish all that weaving.”

The detailed update is perhaps a sign that Martin is at least still working on the book. There's been reasonable skepticism among readers that Martin had long given up writing the series. After all, it's been 10 years since the release of "A Dance with Dragons," the 5th "ASOIAF" novel.

Martin had previously vowed to release "Winds" and the planned final novel in the series "A Dream of Spring" in time for the conclusion of the television show. That obviously didn't happen. "Thrones" ended in 2019 without the source material of the final two books.

Hopefully, that explains the clunky, much-maligned last two seasons of the show.

Still, Martin has to finish the remaining quarter of the book, re-read his copy, edit the novel, and send it in for editing and publication. At his current pace, that's what? Another four years?

At 74 years old, there's the unfortunate possibility that Martin will not complete "Winds" and certainly not "A Dream."

He often scoffs at his own meticulous, slow-paced writing style. And he has less time to focus on his writing process than at any time in the previous decade.

HBO signed Martin to a five-year deal in 2020 that entails content development for various projects. Currently, Martin executive produces the "Game of Thrones" prequel "House of the Dragon."

HBO asked Martin to take a more hands-on approach to "Dragon" and other possible spin-offs than he did to the original series.

Should George R.R. Martin fail to finish the final two novels -- as I expect -- that rushed, illogical mess of a final season would be the last we hear of characters like Arya, Dany, Sansa, and Tyrion.

There is, however, hope for Jon Snow. Kit Harington and HBO are in the developmental stage of a Jon Snow sequel series that would pick up near the end of "Thrones."

HBO is developing a sequel featuring Jon Snow.

Last summer, Martin confirmed the project's development but stressed it had yet to be green-lit.

“Yes, it was Kit Harrington who brought the idea to us,” Martin said of the show idea. “I cannot tell you the names of the writers/ showrunners, since that has not been cleared for release yet… but Kit brought them in too, his own team, and they are terrific.”

“Our working title for the show is SNOW,” he adds.

Put simply, expect HBO to order or torpedo "SNOW," finish "House of the Dragon," and order another spin-off before George completes the remaining 25% of "Winds of Winter."