Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin says he was "out of the loop" on season 5 and beyond

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has confirmed he was "out of loop" on later seasons of the HBO TV series.

In an interview with the New York Times (via TVLine), Martin touched on the controversial last few seasons of Game of Thrones, admitting that he didn't have a whole lot to do with seasons 5 and beyond, and particularly with the final two seasons, which are by far the most controversial.

Martin was very creatively involved with the first four seasons of Game of Thrones, but he says that "by seasons 5 and 6, and certainly 7 and 8, I was pretty much out of the loop."

When asked for an explanation, Martin only suggested that the interviewer "ask Dan and David," referring to Game of Thrones' showrunners, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff. Weiss and Benioff declined the New York Times' request for comment.

Notably, season 5 is when the Game of Thrones TV show took its biggest departures from the source work and started going in a different direction from the books. Back in November, a book revealed that season 5 was the point at which Martin began to "worry" about the direction of the show.

As for the books on which Game of Thrones is based, Martin recently revealed that his ending is drifting "further and further away" from the TV show's ending. 

Then of course there's the upcoming HBO series House of the Dragon, which is based on Martin's Fire & Blood novel, which centers around the Targaryen civil war. We've seen some positive buzz going around ahead of the prequel's August 21 premiere. And finally, we've also heard word of a Game of Thrones sequel series starring Kit Harrington as Jon Snow, but it's not confirmed whether that'll actually make it to screen.

Here's how to get signed up for HBO Max before House of the Dragon premieres, and head here to see where Game of Thrones ranked on our list of the best TV shows of all time.