Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin gave the premiere of House of the Dragon a miss after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Martin contracted the virus in the days following his appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con panel of House of the Dragon, based on his book Fire & Blood, set generations before the events of Game of Thrones.

According to Variety, HBO and HBO Max's chief content officer Casey Bloys on Wednesday evening informed the audience at the Los Angeles premiere of the upcoming fantasy series about Martin'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. I think he's feeling fine, so nothing to worry about,” said Bloys.

“I wanted to tell you what a pleasure it is and how lucky we are to have the architect of this world on this journey with us. He has been fantastic,” added Bloys.

Last Saturday (July 23), Martin had directly addressed the topic of COVID-19 during the show's Comic-Con panel, sharing that he had been exercising caution and remaining socially distanced throughout the pandemic.

He had said he spent a lot of time at his Santa Fe home and chose not to visit the House of the Dragon set during production.

During the premiere, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapotchnik, who serve as co-executive producers and co-showrunners on House of the Dragon, introduced the evening's screening of the series pilot.

“House of the Dragon could not exist without the beautiful work and words of George R.R. Martin. We are incredibly grateful that he was bold enough to entrust his opus to me as the writer and Miguel as the director,” said Condal.

House of the Dragon will air on HBO and HBO Max in the US on August 21. In India, the series will start streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from August 22.