George RR Martin on the “rivalry” of the House of Dragons with The Lord of the Rings series The Rings of Power.

George RR Martin has commented on the alleged rivalry between his own game of Thrones prequel series house of the dragon and the upcoming JRR Tolkien-inspired show The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, saying, “If they win six Emmys, and I hope they win, I hope we win seven.”

Martin spoke exclusively The Independent at the inaugural Santa Fe Literary Festival held in the New Mexico capital last weekend.

house of the dragon based on Martin’s 2018 novel Fire & Bloodand tells the story of the Civil War in Targaryen, which took place some 300 years before the events of game of Thrones. It is scheduled to premiere on HBO on August 21.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is being produced by Amazon Studios and is set to debut on September 2nd. It is mainly based on Tolkien’s Appendices for Lord of the Rings.

“As you know, it’s a strange deal. Amazon bought Tolkien, but they didn’t get any of the books,” Martin said. “You didn’t get it Lord of the ringsthey didn’t get it The Hobbitthey didn’t even get it The Silmarillion.

“I don’t think they made it Farmer Giles of Ham or leaf of niggle, but they got the attachments, I guess, and they’re constructing a second-age story about it. There are many myths about this, so it will be interesting to see what they did.”

Commenting on the alleged rivalry between the two shows, Martin said he hopes both shows could become a success, proving the demand for more than one epic fantasy. “I know a lot of articles, the moment the dates were announced, it was like, ‘Oh, the battle for fantasy supremacy. It is Rings of Power versus house of the dragon, Who will win?’ I don’t know why they always have to do that.”

He added: “I hope both shows are successful. I’m competitive enough. I hope we can do more. If they win six Emmys, and I hope they win, I hope we win seven. But nonetheless, it’s good for the imagination. i love fantasy I love science fiction. I want more shows on TV.”

You can read the full interview with Martin here.

The Independent, as the event’s international media partner, covers every day of the festival with exclusive interviews with some of the headline writers. You can find more information about the festival on our Section of the Santa Fe Literary Festival or visit the Festival website.