George R.R. Martin has revealed that he urged Game of Thrones producers to keep the show running for "10 seasons at least."

The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones concluded in 2019, but more than three years later, it is still a point of contention amongst fans. In particular, many believe that the ending of the series felt rushed, curtailing story arcs and reaching abrupt resolutions for some of the series' major plots, including the battle with the Night King and the winner of the Iron Throne.

Author George R.R. Martin has assured fans that he didn't have much influence over the final stretch of the series. In fact, he advocated for the show to keep rolling for many more seasons. "I was saying it needs to be 10 seasons at least and maybe 12, 13. I lost that one," he told The Wall Street Journal, referring to conversations he had with series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

The outlet notes that Benioff and Weiss were adamant about ending Game of Thrones after eight seasons, as they planned to close out the series before the show had passed its prime. Ultimately, no one could change their minds about that — not even Martin, who admits that he was largely kept "out of the loop" in the later seasons of the hit HBO fantasy series.

Martin has, however, had much more input on the show's prequel series House of the Dragon, which made its hotly-anticipated debut on August 21. Millions of HBO Max subscribers flocked to the app on Sunday for the series premiere, but a sudden influx of users resulted in technical issues on Amazon devices for some prospective viewers. Those issues appear to have mostly been resolved now.

IGN's review of the debut episode called it "a strong, well-cast start to the Game of Thrones spin-off" that "feels very close to its predecessor in tone and content, but immediately establishes a struggle for power around an amiable, weak-willed king, and vivid new characters to fight those battles. We also have dragons, inbreeding, and resentment. It's good to be back in backstabbing Westeros."

Want to read more about House of the Dragon? Check out everything we know about House of the Dragon so far, and find out what we know about the Gold Cloaks.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon has crashed HBO Max. Millions of subscribers flocked to the app on Sunday for the series premiere, but many were unable to view it due to technical issues that affected at least 3,500 users.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, it seems that certain Amazon devices couldn’t keep up with the influx of viewers. Meanwhile, HBO Max users turned to Twitter to vent their frustrations.

“House of the Dragon is being successfully viewed by millions of HBO Max subscribers this evening,” HBO said in a statement. “We’re aware of a small portion of users attempting to connect via Fire TV devices that are having issues and are in the process of resolving for those impacted users.”

The only thing that could tear down the House of the Dragon was itself. #HOTD

— HBO Max (@hbomax) August 22, 2022

Right now, it looks as though those issues have largely been resolved. Game of Thrones fans were left stranded and frustrated last night, however, when the debut episode was officially released, only to find that they simply couldn’t watch it.

HBO Max support advised users that: “To help with the crashing issues you're experiencing, please go to any other show/movie on HBO Max, turn off subtitles/captions, and then try streaming House of the Dragon again.” This reportedly worked for some users, but others remained unable to watch. Of course, it also didn’t help those who need closed captioning to view the episode at all.

This isn't the first time Game of Thrones has caused Amazon Fire crashes as similar issues were reported during the final episodes of the original show.

House of the Dragons keeps crashing the HBO MAX app on Fire TV. Other shows don't crash the app. What is going on? I cleared cache, restarted, deleted/reloaded the app. Nothing works.

— lgbeddow (@lgbeddow) August 22, 2022

House of the Dragon is the long-awaited Game of Thrones prequel that’s had fans on the edge of their seats since it was first announced.

IGN’s review of the debut episode called it “a strong, well-cast start to the Game of Thrones spin-off. This feels very close to its predecessor in tone and content, but immediately establishes a struggle for power around an amiable, weak-willed king, and vivid new characters to fight those battles. We also have dragons, inbreeding, and resentment. It’s good to be back in backstabbing Westeros.”

Want to read more about House of the Dragon? Check out everything we know about House of the Dragon so far, and find out what we know about the Gold Cloaks.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

HBO has revealed the first teaser for the upcoming TV series adaptation of The Last of Us and it features Pedro Pascal's Joel, Bella Ramsey's Ellie, and more.

You can check out the first look by skipping to 1:40 in the teaser below for HBO's upcoming shows. Alongside The Last of Us, you can see footage from The Idol, Succession, The White Lotus, The White House Plumbers, Industry, and more.

The Last of Us, The Idol, Succession, The White Lotus, The White House Plumbers, Industry, and so much more are coming soon to @hbomax.⁰

Now this is my kind of dream. pic.twitter.com/LDuJSiAFSv

— HBO (@HBO) August 21, 2022

Alongside Joel and Ellie, the short tease also gives us a glimpse at Joel's daughter Sarah (Nico Parker), Bill (Nick Offerman), a clicker stuck in a wall (or the remnants of one), and potentially Frank (Murray Bartlett).

The tease begins in winter as Ellie says, "Everybody I have cared for, has either died or left me." Joel responds by saying, "You have no idea what loss is." We get glimpses of other scenes, including a heartbreaking one from the beginning of the game we won't spoil, a bit of Joel training ellie to use a gun, and more. It's over quickly, but it gives us a great idea as to the tone they are setting with this series.

We still don't have an official release date for The Last of Us on HBO, but we know it will arrive in 2023.

It was revealed, however, that the first season will tell the story of the original game, but some of the stories in its 10 episodes will "deviate greatly" from what came before.

We recently helped reveal the casting for Henry and Sam, and they will join a cast that includes Merle Dandridge reprising her role as Marlene from the game, Anna Torv as Tess, Tommy voice actor Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, and more.

For more, check out all the details on The Last of Us Remake that is set to arrive on PS5 on September 2 and Pascal's comments on how this adaptation is "similar" to how Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni treat The Mandalorian and why he believes this show can "more than live up to" the original game.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

HBO has revealed the first teaser for the upcoming TV series adaptation of The Last of Us and it features Pedro Pascal's Joel, Bella Ramsey's Ellie, and more.

You can check out the first look by skipping to 1:40 in the teaser below for HBO's upcoming shows. Alongside The Last of Us, you can see footage from The Idol, Succession, The White Lotus, The White House Plumbers, Industry, and more.

The Last of Us, The Idol, Succession, The White Lotus, The White House Plumbers, Industry, and so much more are coming soon to @hbomax.⁰

Now this is my kind of dream. pic.twitter.com/LDuJSiAFSv

— HBO (@HBO) August 21, 2022

Alongside Joel and Ellie, the short tease also gives us a glimpse at Joel's daughter Sarah (Nico Parker), Bill (Nick Offerman), a clicker stuck in a wall (or the remnants of one), and potentially Frank (Murray Bartlett).

The tease begins in winter as Ellie says, "Everybody I have cared for, has either died or left me." Joel responds by saying, "You have no idea what loss is." We get glimpses of other scenes, including a heartbreaking one from the beginning of the game we won't spoil, a bit of Joel training ellie to use a gun, and more. It's over quickly, but it gives us a great idea as to the tone they are setting with this series.

We still don't have an official release date for The Last of Us on HBO, but we know it will arrive in 2023.

It was revealed, however, that the first season will tell the story of the original game, but some of the stories in its 10 episodes will "deviate greatly" from what came before.

We recently helped reveal the casting for Henry and Sam, and they will join a cast that includes Merle Dandridge reprising her role as Marlene from the game, Anna Torv as Tess, Tommy voice actor Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, and more.

For more, check out all the details on The Last of Us Remake that is set to arrive on PS5 on September 2 and Pascal's comments on how this adaptation is "similar" to how Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni treat The Mandalorian and why he believes this show can "more than live up to" the original game.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

HBO has revealed the first teaser for the upcoming TV series adaptation of The Last of Us and it features Pedro Pascal's Joel, Bella Ramsey's Ellie, and more.

You can check out the first look by skipping to 1:40 in the teaser below for HBO's upcoming shows. Alongside The Last of Us, you can see footage from The Idol, Succession, The White Lotus, The White House Plumbers, Industry, and more.

The Last of Us, The Idol, Succession, The White Lotus, The White House Plumbers, Industry, and so much more are coming soon to @hbomax.⁰

Now this is my kind of dream. pic.twitter.com/LDuJSiAFSv

— HBO (@HBO) August 21, 2022

Alongside Joel and Ellie, the short tease also gives us a glimpse at Joel's daughter Sarah (Nico Parker), Bill (Nick Offerman), a clicker stuck in a wall (or the remnants of one), and potentially Frank (Murray Bartlett).

The tease begins in winter as Ellie says, "Everybody I have cared for, has either died or left me." Joel responds by saying, "You have no idea what loss is." We get glimpses of other scenes, including a heartbreaking one from the beginning of the game we won't spoil, a bit of Joel training ellie to use a gun, and more. It's over quickly, but it gives us a great idea as to the tone they are setting with this series.

We still don't have an official release date for The Last of Us on HBO, but we know it will arrive in 2023.

It was revealed, however, that the first season will tell the story of the original game, but some of the stories in its 10 episodes will "deviate greatly" from what came before.

We recently helped reveal the casting for Henry and Sam, and they will join a cast that includes Merle Dandridge reprising her role as Marlene from the game, Anna Torv as Tess, Tommy voice actor Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, and more.

For more, check out all the details on The Last of Us Remake that is set to arrive on PS5 on September 2 and Pascal's comments on how this adaptation is "similar" to how Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni treat The Mandalorian and why he believes this show can "more than live up to" the original game.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

A new competitive play trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet was released and it revealed new moves, new items, and Cyclizar, a Dragon and Normal type Pokemon that very well may be the pre-evolution of these new games' legendary Pokemon Miraidon and Koraidon.

The trailer was revealed during the 2022 Pokemon World Championships and gave us another look at battles in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Cyclizar was one of the main focuses of the new footage and, as you can see below, the new Pokemon not only resembles the previously mentioned legendaries in look, but it can be used as a mount in-game like Miraidon and Koraidon. Their connection hasn't been confirmed one way or another, but the clues are there to lead to the possibility.

On Pokemon.com, it is reaveled that Cyclizar "has lived in many households in the Paldea region since ancient times. It has a mild disposition, and people riding Cyclizar are a very common sight. It appears Cyclizar don't mind being ridden because the warmth of a rider helps stave off the cold.​"

It can also sprint over 70 MPH while carrying a human, and it comes with a new move called Shed Tail that "creates a substitute for [Cyclizar] using its own HP before switching places with a party Pokémon in waiting."

We were also shown a few items in the trailer and on Pokemon.com, and they are as follows;

• Mirror Herb: This herb will allow the holder to mirror an opponent’s stat increases and boost its own stats–but only once.
• Covert Cloak: This hooded cloak conceals the holder, protecting it from the additional effects of moves.
• Loaded Dice: If a Pokémon holding this item uses a multistrike move, that move will be more likely to hit more times.

Lastly, Terastallizing was showcased and teased the phenomenon in the Paldea region that makes Pokemon "shine and glimmer like gems." Alongside looking extra sparkly, Terastallizing in battle changes the type of your Pokemon to its Tera Type.

There is also a TM that can teach Pokemon the Normal-type move Tera Blast which will become a move of the same type as the Pokemon's Tera Type.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be released on Nintendo Switch on November 18, 2022. For more, check out how these new games will have three story campaigns that you can tackle in any order, our wiki page that has gathered all the new Pokemon revealed so far, and what it was like for IGN's Joshua Yehl to compete in the Pokemon TCG World Championships for the first time.

We were also given a glimpse of Koraidon and Miraidon in the Pokemon Trading Card Game, and they will obviously be two of the cards featured in the upcoming Scarlet and Violet sets.

(ex)pect the unexpected, #PokemonTCG: Scarlet & Violet! pic.twitter.com/xg5bcpKMPN

— Pokémon TCG (@PokemonTCG) August 21, 2022

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

A new competitive play trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet was released and it revealed new moves, new items, and Cyclizar, a Dragon and Normal type Pokemon that very well may be the pre-evolution of these new games' legendary Pokemon Miraidon and Koraidon.

The trailer was revealed during the 2022 Pokemon World Championships and gave us another look at battles in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Cyclizar was one of the main focuses of the new footage and, as you can see below, the new Pokemon not only resembles the previously mentioned legendaries in look, but it can be used as a mount in-game like Miraidon and Koraidon. Their connection hasn't been confirmed one way or another, but the clues are there to lead to the possibility.

On Pokemon.com, it is reaveled that Cyclizar "has lived in many households in the Paldea region since ancient times. It has a mild disposition, and people riding Cyclizar are a very common sight. It appears Cyclizar don't mind being ridden because the warmth of a rider helps stave off the cold.​"

It can also sprint over 70 MPH while carrying a human, and it comes with a new move called Shed Tail that "creates a substitute for [Cyclizar] using its own HP before switching places with a party Pokémon in waiting."

We were also shown a few items in the trailer and on Pokemon.com, and they are as follows;

• Mirror Herb: This herb will allow the holder to mirror an opponent’s stat increases and boost its own stats–but only once.
• Covert Cloak: This hooded cloak conceals the holder, protecting it from the additional effects of moves.
• Loaded Dice: If a Pokémon holding this item uses a multistrike move, that move will be more likely to hit more times.

Lastly, Terastallizing was showcased and teased the phenomenon in the Paldea region that makes Pokemon "shine and glimmer like gems." Alongside looking extra sparkly, Terastallizing in battle changes the type of your Pokemon to its Tera Type.

There is also a TM that can teach Pokemon the Normal-type move Tera Blast which will become a move of the same type as the Pokemon's Tera Type.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be released on Nintendo Switch on November 18, 2022. For more, check out how these new games will have three story campaigns that you can tackle in any order, our wiki page that has gathered all the new Pokemon revealed so far, and what it was like for IGN's Joshua Yehl to compete in the Pokemon TCG World Championships for the first time.

We were also given a glimpse of Koraidon and Miraidon in the Pokemon Trading Card Game, and they will obviously be two of the cards featured in the upcoming Scarlet and Violet sets.

(ex)pect the unexpected, #PokemonTCG: Scarlet & Violet! pic.twitter.com/xg5bcpKMPN

— Pokémon TCG (@PokemonTCG) August 21, 2022

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Top Gun: Maverick has crossed another impressive milestone during its theatrical run as it has now officially passed Avengers: Infinity War to become the sixth-highest grossing movie in domestic box office history by earning $679 million.

As reported by Box Office Mojo, Top Gun: Maverick now sits behind Black Panther's $700 million and, while it may be a bit of a challenge, the sequel to 1986's Top Gun does still have a chance to pass it by as it is still racking up ticket sales at the box office.

While that goal may be obtainable, it simply may not have enough speed to pass Avatar's $760 million, Spider-Man: No Way Home's $804 million, Avengers: Endgame's $858 million, or Star Wars: The Force Awakens' $936 million. Even if it ends its run in 6th place, it will obviously still be a performance of a lifetime.

Worldwide, Top Gun: Maverickis currently sitting at 13th place with $1.3 billion, and it sits just behind Avengers: Age of Ultron's $1.4 billion and Frozen 2's $1.45 billion.

Top Gun: Maverick will continue to soar in theaters around the world, but fans will be able to own a digital copy of the film on August 23 (Aug 24 in AU). On November 1 (Nov 2 in AU), the physical 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray releases will arrive. Those who purchase the film at home will be treated to over two hours of bonus content including the cast's intense flight training programs, Tom Cruise piloting his own vintage World War II P-51 Mustang, and more.

In our Top Gun: Maverick review, we said that it "is an out-of-bounds blast of afterburner fumes and thrillseeker highs that's sure to please audiences looking for a classic summer blockbuster."

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Top Gun: Maverick has crossed another impressive milestone during its theatrical run as it has now officially passed Avengers: Infinity War to become the sixth-highest grossing movie in domestic box office history by earning $679 million.

As reported by Box Office Mojo, Top Gun: Maverick now sits behind Black Panther's $700 million and, while it may be a bit of a challenge, the sequel to 1986's Top Gun does still have a chance to pass it by as it is still racking up ticket sales at the box office.

While that goal may be obtainable, it simply may not have enough speed to pass Avatar's $760 million, Spider-Man: No Way Home's $804 million, Avengers: Endgame's $858 million, or Star Wars: The Force Awakens' $936 million. Even if it ends its run in 6th place, it will obviously still be a performance of a lifetime.

Worldwide, Top Gun: Maverickis currently sitting at 13th place with $1.3 billion, and it sits just behind Avengers: Age of Ultron's $1.4 billion and Frozen 2's $1.45 billion.

Top Gun: Maverick will continue to soar in theaters around the world, but fans will be able to own a digital copy of the film on August 23. On November 1, the physical 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray releases will arrive. Those who purchase the film at home will be treated to over two hours of bonus content including the cast's intense flight training programs, Tom Cruise piloting his own vintage World War II P-51 Mustang, and more.

In our Top Gun: Maverick review, we said that it "is an out-of-bounds blast of afterburner fumes and thrillseeker highs that's sure to please audiences looking for a classic summer blockbuster."

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

If the wait for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has become too much to handle, Lucasfilm has announced that a new novel titled Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars will arrive on March 7, 2023, and it will tell a story set between the first game and the upcoming sequel.

As detailed by StarWars.com, Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars will be written by Sam Maggs and published by Del Rey and it "finds Order 66 survivor Cal Kestis leading the Mantis crew on an adventure set between the critically-acclaimed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and the highly-anticipated Star Wars Jedi: Survivor."

Maggs is no stranger to the world of video games, as she has worked on Anthem, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Call of Duty: Vanguard, and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. She was also part of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake that has been reportedly paused indefinitely, but she quit after around nine months.

If that isn't enough for you, Dark Horse will be releasing The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on May 2, 2023. This behind-the-scenes look will "chronicle the development of the game, collecting concept art and creator commentary in an oversized, full-color hardcover."

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor itself has no release date and Respawn is currently only saying that the sequel will arrive sometime in 2023. While these dates may indicate the game will be released between March and May, a game development timetable is constantly changing and anything can happen between now and then.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was officially announced at Star Wars Celebration 2022, and it showed Cal Kestis without his allies and possibly his lightsaber as it looks to have fallen into the hands of the Empire. It was also revealed that Survivor takes place five years after Fallen Order.

For more, check out how Star Wars Jedi: Survivor picks up from Fallen Order and all the other upcoming games set in that galaxy far, far away.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.