George R. R. Martin, the acclaimed author behind the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series and co-creator of the world of Elden Ring, has tantalizingly hinted at the possibility of an Elden Ring movie. However, he also highlighted a significant challenge to his potential involvement: his ongoing work on "The Winds of Winter," the long-awaited sixth book in his fantasy saga.
Martin's contribution to Elden Ring, one of 2022's top-selling games developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco, was pivotal in shaping its universe and backstory. During IGN Fan Fest 2025, when asked about his interest in a sequel, Martin cleverly pivoted the conversation to the prospect of an Elden Ring movie. "Well, I can't say too much about it, but there is some talk about making a movie out of Elden Ring," he shared, fueling speculation among fans.
This isn't the first time Martin has teased an Elden Ring adaptation. FromSoftware's president, Hidetaka Miyazaki, has also expressed openness to the idea, provided they partner with a "very strong" collaborator. In an interview with The Guardian, Miyazaki noted, "I don’t see any reason to deny another interpretation or adaptation of Elden Ring, a movie for example... But I don’t think myself, or FromSoftware, have the knowledge or ability to produce something in a different medium."
Despite the excitement surrounding the potential movie, Martin acknowledged that his commitment to completing "The Winds of Winter" might limit his involvement. "We'll see if that [the Elden Ring movie] comes to pass and what the extent of my involvement was, I don't know," he told IGN. "I'm a few years behind with my latest book, so that also limits the amount of things that I can do."
The wait for "The Winds of Winter" has been agonizing for fans, with the last book in the series, "A Dance With Dragons," released back in 2011. Martin himself has admitted to the delays, saying in December, "Unfortunately, I am 13 years late. Every time I say that, I’m [like], 'How could I be 13 years late?' I don’t know, it happens a day at a time." He remains determined, however, asserting, "But that’s still a priority... A lot of people are already writing obituaries for me. [They’re saying] 'Oh, he’ll never be finished.' Maybe they’re right. I don’t know. I’m alive right now! I seem pretty vital!”
Martin's role in Elden Ring involved extensive world-building, a task he relished. He explained to IGN how he helped FromSoftware craft the game's backstory: "When they came to me, FromSoftware, they wanted the world... So where did that world come from? And I've done a lot of world building, most notably on Westeros and the backgrounds of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones... What had happened 5,000, 10,000 years before the current day action in Elden Ring that led them to that place? And I had some ideas about the magic and the runes... It was interesting that the team flew in and we had a number of sessions and they would fly back and do their magic, and then they would come back here a couple months later and show me what they had, which was always amazing to see what they came up with."
When asked if all his work was used in the game, Martin noted, "Yeah, I think especially when you're world building, there's always more that you actually see on the screen... And that's true of any of these big epic fantasies. I mean, you look at Tolkien and there are hundreds of pages of past history before you get to even the era of the Hobbit and dozens of kings and wars and things like that."
