'Game of Thrones' author George R. R. Martin doesn't know why the show is ending after 8 seasons

• "Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin discussed the last season of the popular HBO series at the 2018 Emmys.
• He said he doesn't know why the show is ending after eight seasons — and that it could have lasted for at least five more seasons.
• "If you've read my novels, you know there was enough material for more seasons. They made certain cuts," he said.

"Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin doesn't want the popular show to end next year, either.

Martin — who penned the original series, "A Song of Ice and Fire," which the HBO series is based upon — discussed the forthcoming final season at the 2018 Emmys. He told Variety that he wasn't involved in the decision to end the show after eight seasons.

"I don't know [why it's ending]. Ask [show co-creators] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] when they come through," Martin said on the red carpet. "We could have gone to 11, 12, 13 seasons — but I guess they wanted a life."

"If you've read my novels, you know there was enough material for more seasons. They made certain cuts," he said. 

"David and Dan have been saying for five years that seven seasons was all they would go. And we got them to go to eight, but not anymore than that," Martin told Variety, admitting that he pushed for 10 seasons, but "they won."

Read more: HBO released just 3 seconds of footage from the final season of 'Game of Thrones' — and fans are having emotions

Martin went on to explain that he and the HBO showrunners have five prequels in development, "based on other periods in the history of Westeros — some of them just 100 years before 'Game of Thrones,' some of them 5,000 years before 'Game of Thrones.'"

"I'm committed to these prequels," he continued. "I mean, I think this story ends when it ends. And I know all the actors — as great as they are — all the actors are anxious to get on and play other roles. They don't want to spend their entire lives playing one role. And that's fine. It's great. We had such an amazing cast."

Martin said he also has other projects in development, including a new HBO show based on the post-apocalyptic novel "Who Fears Death" by Nnedi Okorafor. Martin is an executive producer.

"We're developing that to be, I hope, the next big HBO fantasy series," he told Variety.

"Game of Thrones" was nominated for 22 awards at the 2018 Emmys. The show, hosted by "SNL's" Colin Jost and Michael Che, airs at 8 p.m. EST on Monday, September 17 on NBC.

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