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George R.R. Martin misses 'Dragon' premiere after contracting COVID-19

George R.R. Martin was forced to skip the premiere of the "Game of Thrones" prequel series "House of the Dragon" in Los Angeles after contracting COVID-19. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 5 | George R.R. Martin was forced to skip the premiere of the "Game of Thrones" prequel series "House of the Dragon" in Los Angeles after contracting COVID-19. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

July 28 (UPI) -- George R.R. Martin, the man behind HBO's popular fantasy series Game of Thrones, was forced to miss the premiere for the spinoff show House of the Dragon after contracting COVID-19.

Martin, 73, was scheduled to be one of the red carpet attendees at the show's world premiere on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

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That morning, though, Martin posted a video on social media announcing that he had tested positive for COVID-19 following a recent appearance at Comic-Con in San Diego, Calif.

"Yesterday, when I got up in the morning, I tested positive for COVID," Martin said, adding that he had taken the test three times with the same result.

As a result, Martin said, he was forced to quarantine in a Los Angeles hotel and would be unable to attend the House of the Dragon festivities.

"My symptoms are minor, I have some sniffles, I cough once in a while, I'm being well taken care of, I'm taking the drugs and I should be good, so my thanks to any of you who are worried about me, and I'll be back as soon as I can," Martin said.

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During the premiere, HBO's chief content officer, Casey Bloys, spoke about the creator's absence.

"I was going to start today by introducing George R.R. Martin and tell you how great it is to have George on the journey with us. Unfortunately, George got COVID at Comic-Con, so he's not here," Bloys said, adding that he was "feeling fine, so [there's] nothing to worry about."

Martin likely contracted COVID-19 from his time at Comic-Con, during which he participated in the panel dedicated to House of the Dragon, alongside the series' showrunners and creators.

During this panel, HBO unveiled the official trailer for the series, which has been highly anticipated by fans ever since its announcement in October 2019.

A prequel taking place 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will star Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke.

The show is one of a number of spinoffs from Game of Thrones that Martin has in progress.

This includes a show based on Jon Snow, one of the main characters from the original series.

Martin recently confirmed on his website that the show was in the early stages of production.

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"Yes, there is a Jon Snow show in development," Martin said. "The Hollywood Reporter story was largely correct. Our working title for the show is Snow."

The fantasy creator said that Snow was one of four Game of Thrones spinoff series that he was working on.

While these shows may be TV productions, Martin is best known as a prolific fantasy author.

Game of Thrones itself was based on Martin's saga A Song of Ice and Fire, which has gone on to become one of the best-selling novel series in the genre.

House of the Dragon is set to premiere on HBO Max on Aug. 21.

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