'Game of Thrones' Author George R.R. Martin Assures Worried Fans He’s "Not Dead Yet"
It was another tragic day in pop culture — which has already set a slew of unfortunate deaths from British icons — with the passing of Beatles producer George Martin. The collective response from the industry was understandably somber, with several artists paying tribute to the "fifth Beatle" on social media.
However, Martin's death caused an accidental Twitter blowout for sci-fi fantasy fanatics — as the late Beatles producer shares a strikingly similar name to George R.R. Martin, the author of the highly popular A Song and Ice and Fire novels, which were adapted into the HBO series Game of Thrones.
Fans on Twitter swarmed to express their dismay over the author's apparent death, and even a local network from Reno, Nevada, initially posted an update about the producer's death using George R.R. Martin as the lead image.
LOL, @kolo8 just killed George RR Martin. pic.twitter.com/LuyXRGPpev
I thought George RR Martin just died.... Just some other George Martin
A, um, younger person just expressed worry about the future of "Game of Thrones" when I mentioned George Martin had died.
Oh no, how will Game of Thrones get finished?! RIP George Martin.
"George Martin" is trending and my first thought was "damn he died and he didn't finish writing game of thrones"
man it sucks that george martin died before he finished game of thrones
Folks, the unthinkable has happened, George Martin has died and we will never ever know how Game of Thrones ends.
As a result, Martin quelled his nervous but completely mistaken fans in a post on his Live Journal blog titled 'Not Dead Yet.'
"While it is strangely moving to realize that so many people around the world care so deeply about my life and death, I have to go with Mark Twain and insist that the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated," Martin wrote. " ... I am still here, still writing, still editing, still going to movies and reading books, and I expect to hang around for quite a while yet, thank you very much."
In a tribute to Martin — the Beatles producer — the author also posted a video of the group performing "Yesterday."
Rest easy Thrones fans, and no need to pray to the Old Gods, or the New: Martin is alive and well. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the highly anticipated release of the sixth book in the series, which is still very much a mystery.