'Game of Thrones' Season 8: George R.R. Martin Calls Out 'Toxic' Backlash
After that impressive House of the Dragon trailer, the author calls out the "toxic" internet.
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Daenerys Targaryen in the final season of Game of Thrones.
Coinciding with the official trailer release for House of the Dragon, attention has turned to the divisive final season of Game of Thrones .
Many fans petitioned for a remake of the eighth and final season of HBO's series, with some denouncing the entire show. While discussing upcoming prequel series House of the Dragon, author George R.R. Martin and HBO and HBO Max content chief Casey Bloys addressed the backlash.
"The fucking toxic internet and these podcasts out there saying that season eight left such a bad impression that people say, 'Oh, I'm never going to watch them again,'" Martin told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Wednesday. "I don't trust them anymore."
"It was a social media backlash," Bloys said. "I think in multiple parts of our society, we are reminding ourselves that Twitter is not real life. We knew it was going to be divisive and, of course, you want all fans to be happy, but that's never going to happen. There weren't a lot of people walking around despondent or upset. It's a take that reads well but probably doesn't fully reflect viewer feelings."
House of the Dragon is based on Martin's novel Fire & Blood, which tells the history of House Targaryen. It's set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and stars Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans. The full cast, of course, is even bigger.
The first teaser trailer for the series dropped in May, mysteriously revealing Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock), the named heir to King Viserys (Considine). However, Rhaenys (Best) warns a young Rhaenyra that "men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne."
The 10-episode series will debut Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
