In the midst of the third season of the AMC and AMC+ series Dark Winds, a noir drama starring Westworld‘s Zahn McClarnon, two of the show’s executive producers made a surprise appearance. The season three premiere, which aired last night, featured a brief yet memorable scene with the legendary actor Robert Redford and renowned fantasy author George R.R. Martin engaging in a game of jailhouse chess, with McClarnon’s character, Lt. Joe Leaphorn, offering some timely advice. However, the most amusing part of the scene is undoubtedly Redford’s opening line:

“George, the whole world’s waiting! Make a move!”

While Redford’s character is referring to George taking too long to make his chess move within the scene, fans of Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series – which serves as the basis for Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and the upcoming A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on HBO – will likely pick up on the meta-meaning behind the line. The last book in the series, A Dance With Dragons, was released in 2011, and the highly anticipated follow-up, The Winds of Winter, as well as its sequel, A Dream of Spring, have become the most eagerly awaited literary events for fantasy fans, possibly of all time.

Although updates on the book’s progress are sporadic, in December, Martin jokingly assured fans that he is still alive and plans to remain alive long enough to complete the book. The Dark Winds season three premiere can be seen as a sort of proof of life, perhaps.

New episodes of Dark Winds, which also stars Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten, and Deanna Allison, air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and AMC+. According to an AMC press release, “Season three takes place six months after the events of Season two and follows Lt. Joe Leaphorn (McClarnon) and Jim Chee (Gordon) as they investigate the disappearance of two boys, with only an abandoned bicycle and a blood-stained patch of ground left in their wake. Meanwhile, Bernadette Manuelito (Matten) attempts to settle into her new life 500 miles from home with the Border Patrol but stumbles upon a conspiracy involving human and drug smuggling with far-reaching implications.” Dark Winds is based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman and has already been renewed for a fourth season.

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