'Game of Thrones': Will the show officially go beyond the books?

For big “Game of Thrones” moments like the Red Wedding, some book fans have waited gleefully for those watching the TV show to be surprised by the events. But now the books' readers may be learning of plotlines from the TV show before they ever have the chance to see them in print.

Fans of the books have long wondered whether the HBO show based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series would eventually go beyond the stories that the books have covered. Martin is reportedly currently working on the next book in the series, “The Winds of Winter,” but neither that book nor the next in the series has a release date.

The TV show “Game of Thrones” keeps making new seasons, however, and as we previously reported, one character, that of Bran Stark, has already been taken out of the upcoming episodes. "The fact is, even though we’re making changes to the books and adapting as necessary, we’re trying to keep the various storylines the same as the books and trying to keep them roughly [chronologically] parallel," co-showrunner David Benioff told Entertainment Weekly. "And last year we caught up to the end of Bran’s storyline [in George R.R. Martin’s most recent A Song of Ice and Fire novel, 'A Dance with Dragons']. So if we pushed him forward this season, then he’s way ahead of where the other characters are."

Now the “Thrones” showrunners have spoken a bit more on the matter.

“Luckily, we’ve been talking about this with George for a long time, ever since we saw this could happen, and we know where things are heading,” co-showrunner David Benioff said in response to a question about the show going beyond the books, according to Vanity Fair. “And so we’ll eventually, basically, meet up at pretty much the same place where George is going; there might be a few deviations along the route, but we’re heading towards the same destination. I kind of wish that there were some things we didn’t have to spoil, but we’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. The show must go on… and that’s what we’re going to do.”

This of course may change – Martin recently wrote online that he will not be attending upcoming events such as this year’s Comic-Con in order to devote more time to working on “The Winds of Winter.” So perhaps we’ll see “Winds” sooner than we thought.