'The Winds of Winter' Release Appears to Be Delayed Again; Martin Is Focused on His New Film Studio

Many fans have been awaiting George R. R. Martin's "The Winds of Winter," the upcoming sixth novel in the fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire." In January, Martin announced that the novel will be released this year though, there were no further details. He also said that he will announce the completion and delivery of the book before he announces its publication. However, it looks like the release of the novel will be delayed once again.

The highly-anticipated novel will resolve the cliffhangers from the previous installment "A Dance with Dragons." "I'm going to open with the two big battles that I was building up to, the battle in the ice and the battle at Meereen-the battle of Slaver's Bay. And then take it from there," Martin said. Reports say that the reason of the delay of "The Winds of Winter" release is because Martin's focus at the moment is to launch his movie studio as soon as possible.

Albuquerque Journal reports that Martin's new film facility will be available to major Hollywood productions and film entrepreneurs. The studio will be housed in a 30,000 square-foot non-profit building in Santa Fe, Mexico, his hometown. While Martin's Stagecoach Foundation will boost the film economy in his hometown, fans are disappointed yet again upon learning that "The Winds of Winter" will be delayed.

Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales said that the Stagecoach Foundation facility will be used as headquarters for a film crew, editing and others. He added that the facility will give young film entrepreneurs a chance to get along with some of the veterans in Hollywood. Meanwhile, fans who are awaiting the release of "The Winds of Winter" are left disappointed many times with Martin's somewhat teasing with the novel's progress.

In his Live Journal, Martin teased in January that he is not yet done with "The Winds of Winter" but he has made progress. He believes that it should be out this year but interestingly said that he also thought the same thing in 2016. Nonetheless, many fans trust that it should be released before the year ends.