George R.R. Martin’s original Game of Thrones plan put Jaime Lannister on the throne
George R.R. Martin once mapped out a radically different 'Song of Ice and Fire' — a version that would have made King Bran a bit more satisfying.
So, The Winds of Winter is still nowhere to be seen. In true George R.R. Martin fashion, we’re all still waiting – which only throws more attention back to his earlier plans for A Song of Ice and Fire, and how wildly different things could have turned out if the original vision had stuck. Here’s a peek into the alternate Game of Thrones multiverse, courtesy of Martin’s 1993 outline, which has been doing the rounds online and in the trades.
The very first version of A Song of Ice and Fire was meant to run three books, not seven, and Martin imagined Jaime Lannister slaying his way to the throne, blaming Tyrion for the mess.
Martin’s First Plan: The “Trilogy” That Wasn’t
Back in the early 90s, Martin knocked up an outline that pitched Game of Thrones as a tidy trilogy, not the sprawl we know today. This was still fantasy with a political edge, but with far less worldbuilding bloat and, to be fair, a much tighter focus:
- A Game of Thrones: The Stark vs Lannister feud.
- A Dance With Dragons: All about Daenerys’s ascension and her big campaign for the throne.
- The Winds of Winter: The White Walkers (then known as the Others) make their big move south.
Yes, you read that right – three books, three main threads. Then George hit an iceberg of subplots, wrote himself into five existing novels (and still owes us two), and absolutely none of the characters stayed put. In his original draft, Arya and Jon were crushing on each other romantically (try not to picture it), Sansa would have actually married Joffrey and had a son, Tyrion would have been much more of a straight villain who torches Winterfell, and Martin clearly hadn’t cracked the “redemption arc” formula yet.
But the weirdest twist of all: Jaime Lannister was supposed to become king. Game of Thrones fans with short memories, just try wrapping your head around this one – it’s absolute whiplash if all you know is TV Jaime.
Jaime on the Throne?
According to the 1993 blueprint, after Tyrion offed Joffrey, Jaime would simply work down the line of succession, killing everyone ahead of him, and pinning it all on Tyrion. Sansa, her child, anyone else between Jaime and the Iron Throne – all dead, just for the crown. None of that slow-burn ‘Kingslayer with a conscience’ business; we’re talking proper villain mode, closer to Cersei than the Jaime fans grew to begrudgingly adore.
It completely changes Game of Thrones’ main character arcs. Jaime as endgame king basically rules out his redemption, while Tyrion gets hung out to dry. The only constants from this early pitch? The five survivors Martin wanted to reach the end: Daenerys, Jon, Arya, Bran, and Tyrion.
That’s right – King Bran wasn’t anywhere on the board in terms of who’d grab power after all the bloodshed. If Martin kept to this roadmap, fans would have been spared the infamous ‘King Bran’ twist from the show’s final episode, or if Bran did make it, it would’ve at least felt better earned. Imagine Bran taking the throne after Jaime’s killing spree; at least the symbolism works, with Bran ending the story on top after Jaime tried to murder him at the very start. Slightly less tone-deaf than the TV version, to be honest.
What Still Might Change
There’s always the faint hope that Martin’s final novels, whenever we actually see them, will patch up some holes the HBO show left gaping. Bran’s arc in particular had none of the patient foreshadowing or thematic weight Martin usually gives his big moments. If he does hand Bran the crown, at least he’ll have a couple of thousand pages to make it make sense – laying out Bran’s visions, the significance of the Three-Eyed Raven, and tying it all back to the main political game in Westeros.
Martin originally planned just three books — a marked contrast to the seven volumes (and counting) the series now spans.