--- title: George R.R. Martin Still Stuck on One Game of Thrones Change description: George R. R. Martin seems to still see Lady Stoneheart's absence from Game of Thrones as a defining change from his book series. canonical: https://time.com/5237850/george-r-r-martin-game-of-thrones-change-lady-stoneheart/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-12T16:23:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:57:13.656Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: George R.R. Martin Can't Let Go of This Game of Thrones Change og:description: The author seems to still be dwelling on this departure from his books og:url: https://time.com/5237850/george-r-r-martin-game-of-thrones-change-lady-stoneheart/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c02c2b713d41e30/69892d7b4ee2622d223117a7/george-r-r-martin-lady-stoneheart.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: George R. R. Martin At Press Conference In St. Petersburg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: George R.R. Martin Can't Let Go of This Game of Thrones Change twitter:description: The author seems to still be dwelling on this departure from his books twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c02c2b713d41e30/69892d7b4ee2622d223117a7/george-r-r-martin-lady-stoneheart.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # George R.R. Martin Is Still Stuck on This One Major _Game of Thrones_ Change  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 12, 2018 4:23 PM CUT  George R. R. Martin attends a press conference on August 16, 2017 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. George R. R. Martin attends a press conference on August 16, 2017 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.Igor Russak/NurPhoto via Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 12, 2018 4:23 PM CUT Although the decision not to include [Lady Stoneheart](http://time.com/4927278/game-of-thrones-books-lady-stoneheart-littlefinger-death/ "undefined") in [_Game of Thrones_](http://time.com/game-of-thrones-2017/ "undefined")was apparently made long ago, [George R. R. Martin](http://time.com/5207605/nightflyers-george-rr-martin-trailer/ "undefined") seems to still see that particular departure from his _A Song of Ice and Fire_ book series as a defining moment for the show. During an [interview with TIME](http://time.com/4791258/game-of-thrones-george-r-r-martin-interview/ "undefined") leading up to the premiere of _Thrones_‘ seventh season, the author revealed that axing reanimated Catelyn Stark from the story was the one major change he argued against with showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss. “At some points, when David and Dan and I had discussions about what way we should go in, I would always favor sticking with the books, while they would favor making changes,” he said. “I think one of the biggest ones would probably be when they made the decision not to bring Catelyn Stark back as Lady Stoneheart. That was probably the first major diversion of the show from the books and, you know, I argued against that, and David and Dan made that decision.” Now, Martin has again spoken out against the absence of Lady Stoneheart, explaining that the character will continue to play a big role in his books in the forthcoming _The Winds of Winter_. “In the book, characters can be resurrected. After Catelyn is resurrected as Lady Stoneheart, she becomes a vengeful, heartless killer,” he recently told [_Esquire China_](https://www.esquire.com.cn/2017/1108/255994.shtml "undefined"), as reported by [CNet](https://www.cnet.com/news/george-r-r-martin-game-of-thrones-drops-winds-of-winter-hint/ "undefined"). “In the sixth book, I still continue to write her. She is an important character in the set of books. \[Keeping her character\] is the change I most wish I could make in the \[show\].” Let’s just hope we can find out what Lady Stoneheart is up to at some point in the [foreseeable future](http://time.com/5160226/george-r-r-martin-winds-of-winter-release-date/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5237850/george-r-r-martin-game-of-thrones-change-lady-stoneheart/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5237850/george-r-r-martin-game-of-thrones-change-lady-stoneheart/"},"headline":"George R.R. 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