George R.R. Martin is allegedly not ruling out the "Winds of Winter" release date this year, as a decade-old letter by the author hinted that only five characters will survive the original plot in "Game of Thrones."

According to IB Times, the pitch that George R.R. Martin made for the "Game of Thrones" listed only five characters that could survive the show. They are Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark, Daenerys Targayen, and Bran Stark.

The last paragraph by George R.R. Martin was blacked out, supposedly because it contained spoilers. Reddit, however, reportedly redacted the censored portion, which sent fans into a frenzy.

In a blog post, George R. R. Martin wrote that he's hoping the publisher has not red inked any date for the "Winds of Winter" release date either this year, or any other year.

"I have spent years trying to persuade them all not to schedule my books until they are completed and delivered," he added. "Scheduling, and then having to reschedule and postpone, just pisses people off. I'd rather not schedule at all until the date is real and certain."

"This flies against standard publishing practice, however, so it's a battle that I do not always win," the author wrote.

The comment was in reaction to the earlier interview made by HarperCollins publisher Jane Johnson to The Guardian, where she said that she has no information about the "Winds of Winter" release date.

She said "A Song of Fire and Ice" saga is a very complex series so it doesn't help anybody if author George R.R. Martin will rush the writing process.

"I have no information on likely delivery. These are increasingly complex books and require immense amounts of concentration to write," she said of the "Winds of Winter" release date. "Fans really ought to appreciate that the length of these monsters is equivalent to two or three novels by other writers."