Last season of HBO’s Game of Thrones saw several important characters catch up to the current progress of their counterparts in George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series, leaving readers concerned that major storylines from Martin’s highly-anticipated next two novels will soon be spoiled. Thrones showrunner David Benioff finally addressed this possibility to the Oxford Union last weekend, stating that “the show must go on” even the HBO series reaches the ending to Martin’s book series before he finishes writing it.

Series regular Isaac Hempstead-Wright’s Bran Stark won’t appear in the upcoming sixth season of Game of Thrones because the last season caught up to his storyline in Martin’s fifth novel, “A Dance With Dragons.” Martin’s publisher stated in January that the author won’t be releasing the sixth novel this year, so since the sixth season of the HBO series is expected to catch several other characters up to their book counterpart’s storylines, its seventh season will inevitably be filled with major spoilers if the network wants to use the series’ central characters.

Benioff told the crowd at the Oxford Union that Martin and the network has been discussing the possibility of the television series surpassing and possibly finishing before the book series for a long time. The showrunner made sure to assure fans that while he can’t promise there won’t be a few deviations, he knows and plans on sticking to Martin’s future plans for Westeros.

“We’ll eventually, basically, meet up at pretty much the same place where George is going; there might be a few deviations along the route, but we’re heading toward the same destination,” said Benioff. “I kind of wish that there were some things we didn’t have to spoil, but we’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. The show must go on…. And that’s what we’re going to do.”

While Martin’s publisher is likely concerned that fans who already know what happens will be less likely to purchase “Winds of Winter” or “A Dream of Spring,” the sixth and seventh installments in the author’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, Benioff is confident that spoilers in the HBO series won’t affect book sales.

“I think the thing that’s kind of fun for George is the idea that he can still have surprises for people even once they’ve watched the show through to the conclusion,” said Benioff, adding that the books will give fans a deeper look into their favorite characters and include storylines which didn’t make the cut for the show.