Winds of Winter: George RR Martin announces new Hercules project A Dozen Tough Jobs - and fans fear that the Game of Thrones Song of Ice and Fire series will never be completed

The author has been working on The Winds of Winter, the sixth novel in the Song of Ice and Fire which gave birth to the HBO show Game of Thrones, for more than a decade.

He has previously said that more than 1,000 pages of manuscript have been finished - but after The Winds of Winter comes the mooted finale to the series, A Dream of Spring, of which there is no word yet. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said he was taking himself off to somewhere remote to finish Winds of Winter, but as yet no publication date has even been proposed, let alone confirmed.

Fans have been hanging on his every word for the last few years, trying to decode whether a publishing date is in sight, but he has become tired of answering questions about it - and has also reasonably pointed out that having other projects does not mean that no progress is being made with The Winds of Winter.

Now it has been announced, via the Hollywood Reporter, that Martin has signed up to adapt A Dozen Tough Jobs by Howard Waldrop - a long-time friend of his - into an adult animated feature film. It is a retelling of the 12 labours of the Greek god Hercules, transplanted to 1920s Mississippi, where the hero is a former sharecropped trying to win back his freedom.

The Hollywood Reporter said the film will be produced by Martin, Lion Forge Entertainment CEO and founder David Steward II, and Lion Forge president and chief creative officer Stephanie Sperber. It will be made by animation firm Blue Spirit.

“If anyone understands the power of epic stories and expansive franchises, it’s George RR Martin,” said David Steward II to THR. “With A Dozen Tough Jobs, we’re reimagining a timeless legend through fresh, culturally rich lenses. This isn’t just a retelling — it’s a groundbreaking take, unlike anything audiences have seen before, grounded in history but pushing myth into uncharted territory.

“We are looking forward to working with Blue Spirit, one of the best animation houses working in the field today,” said Sperber. “Their elevated style and craft will bring the world of 1920’s deep South to life in a way that will make audiences sit up and take notice.”

Earlier this year, talking to Collider website about a forthcoming TV adaptation another story from Games of Thrones kingdom of Westeros, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which has finished filming and is due to be screened later this year. It is based on Martin’s short stories in the Tales of Dunk and Egg, which are set before the events of the Song of Ice and Fire saga.

He said: “There's always the books, and I'm aware of that people think that— But no, I have to get back. I have to finish the books. That's the one thing I'm completely in control of. There's no budget limitations. There's no other executives on the studio side that I have to please, or other writers with different views. The books are what I'm going to make them. And, I think the one I'm writing is coming pretty well, but I wish it would come faster.”

The reaction of Martin’s many fans to the news was succinctly summed up by Alisha Grauso, writing in Screen Rant: “George R. R. Martin just announced a new project, and with the news, I've now just fully accepted that he's never getting around to writing The Winds of Winter.”