George R.R. Martin promises to finish next ‘Game of Thrones’ book before HBO prequel

George R.R. Martin has made his priorities clear.

The “Game of Thrones� author promised that he will finish the series’ next book, “The Winds of Winter,� before writing any episodes of “House of the Dragon,� the Targaryen-focused prequel that HBO unexpectedly announced Tuesday hours after killing its prequel project starring Naomi Watts.

“I expect to be involved in [‘House of the Dragon’] to some extent and, who knows, if things work out, I may even be able to script a few episodes, as I did for the first four seasons of ‘Game of Thrones,’� Martin wrote on his blog Wednesday.

“But let me make this perfectly clear … I am not taking on any scripts until I have finished and delivered ‘Winds of Winter.’ Winter is still coming, and ‘Winds’ remains my priority, as much as I’d love to write an episode of ‘House.’ �

Martin has been working on the series’ sixth novel, “The Winds of Winter,� since at least 2011, the year his last “Game of Thrones� book, “A Dance With Dragons,� was released.

In his blog post, Martin said “House of the Dragon� was “actually the first concept I pitched to HBO when we started talking about a successor show, way back in the summer of 2016.� The project, created by Martin and “Colony� showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal, is set hundreds of years before the Emmy-winning flagship series and will be based on the book “Fire & Blood.�

He also shared his thoughts on “the bad news� — HBO’s decision not to go forward with the fantasy epic’s spin-off series with Watts, which he was working on with showrunner Jane Goldman.

George R.R. Martin, with his Emmy for “Game of Thrones� in 2015.

(Paul Buck / EPA)

“It goes without saying that I was saddened to hear the show would not be going to series,� Martin wrote. “I do not know why HBO decided not to go to series on this one, but I do not think it had to do with ‘House of the Dragon.’ This was never an either/or situation.�

In other “Game of Thrones� news, the HBO show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss said goodbye earlier this week to the next “Star Wars� cinematic trilogy they were set to helm due to scheduling conflicts with the duo’s recent Netflix deal.