It looks like George R.R. Martin is a lot further along with "A Song of Ice and Fire" than he originally let on. Game of Thrones actor Ian McElhinney, who played Barristan Selmy until 2015 on the hit HBO show, claims Martin has finished books six and seven after an eight year wait. Back when the show started in 2011, it was pretty much doing one book per season, which Martin started in 1996. However, the show quickly caught up and later surpassed the source material.

At a recent convention called Epic Con, Ian McElhinney made an appearance and spoke about Game of Thrones and its worldwide popularity. Additionally, McElhinney admitted that George R.R. Martin is a lot further along in the Ice and Fire series than he has recently claimed. The actor also stated that the books could be out really soon. He had this to say.

"George has already written Books 6 and 7, and as far as he's concerned there only are seven books. But he struck an agreement with David (Benioff) and Dan (Weiss), the showrunners on the series, that he would not publish the final two books until the series has completed. So if all goes well, in another month or two we might get Books 6 and 7, and I'm intrigued to know how Barristan, for instance, ends up going through those final two books. George, I talked to him during Season 1 and he did say to me that Barristan had a very interesting journey. But unfortunately I didn't get to play all of that, so we'll have to wait and see."

This could be huge news if proven to be true. George R.R. Martin has mostly played coy when talking about Game of Thrones and the final two books, going as far as to say a few weeks ago he wasn't sure if there would even be a book seven. Since it became apparent that the show was going to be moving a lot faster than Martin's typing skills, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss went and met with the author to get a broad idea of how everything would end to put together the final seasons.

The meetings between Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin and David Benioff and D.B. Weiss could be what Ian McElhinney is referring to, but he sure seems pretty adamant that books six and seven are complete and ready to roll after the Game of Thrones series comes to a close next week. Obviously, we won't know if this is true until after the show wraps next week. This could potentially be the best news GOT fans have gotten in a long time.

Hardcore Game of Thrones fans have always wondered what George R.R. Martin intended to happen in books six and seven. Even though most of it seems to have played out on the series over the past few seasons. With that being said, one of the biggest complaints about the past few seasons is how rushed everything feels. Books six and seven could help to flesh everything out to feel more faithful to the original intent of Martin and the success of the first seasons. You can check out Ian McElhinney claiming the books are finished below, thanks to the Naturalist 3D YouTube channel.