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George R.R. Martin had announced something significant for April 8, 2025, leading many to assume it would be related to his novel, The Winds of Winter. However, he recently disclosed on his blog, Not A Blog, that what he truly intended to reveal was the revival of direwolves, which the world learned about on April 7.
In his blog post, George R.R. Martin wrote that the dates got mixed up. So, while the world began discussing it on April 7, his blog addressed it on April 8 because a specific news outlet broke the story a day early. Reflecting on how direwolves are a vital part of A Song of Ice and Fire, the author wrote:
"The direwolves were a huge part of it. Without them, Westeros might not exist."
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The writer revealed his emotional attachment to the direwolves, which were recently brought back from extinction by Colossal Biosciences.
"Direwolves are special to me. Why? Damned if I know. As a kid, I was not even allowed to have a dog, let alone a wolf. But I visited the La Brea Tar Pits in LA a few decades back, and when I saw their direwolf exhibit, four hundred skull arrayed on a wall, something stirred inside me," he wrote.
George R.R. Martin recalled how he started writing a sci-fi novel in 1991. Still, he was so captivated by an image of direwolves in the summer snow—a scene that would eventually open A Game of Thrones—that he abandoned the original idea and instead began what would blossom into the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
George R.R. Martin thanked Peter Jackson for involving him in the revival of direwolves
One of the first pictures of the direwolves featured two of them resting on the iconic Iron Throne owned by Peter Jackson. In his blog, Martin thanked Jackson for involving him in the de-extinction of the direwolves.
"Let me first thank Peter Jackson, who phoned me up from New Zealand with a mysterious suggestion that I phone this guy named Ben Lamm, who had something huge he wanted to share with me. Peter had taken an oath of silence, so he could not share the secret with me, but I could hear the excitement in his voice, so I made the call. And damn, I am sure glad I did."
According to Martin's blog, Colossal Biosciences is the only de-extinction company in the world. They have used DNA cloning to bring back direwolves that had been extinct for over 12,500 years.
The company has previously created the Colossal woolly mouse and also revived two litters of red wolves. Red wolves are among the most critically endangered species in the world.
George R.R. Martin mentioned in his blog that no scientific news has excited him as much as the revival of direwolves since Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon. He has also hinted at the revival of other extinct species, including the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, and Howard, the dodo.
Game of Thrones is available to stream on Max.
