As much as HBO might like to ride Game of Thrones for a full decade, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have indicated that they plan to wrap up George R.R. Martin’s epic saga after eight seasons. According to a new report, the renewal for the eighth season may come down soon.
Deadline broke the story about the pending season 8 renewal for Game of Thrones, which shouldn’t be a huge surprise considering that it’s one of the most popular shows in HBO history and the reigning Best Drama series from the most recent Emmy Awards. Nor is it particularly shocking to hear that the cast is reportedly up to receive massive raises, although the numbers are interesting.
The report notes that five cast members: Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will get an immediate salary bump form $300,000 per episode to $500,000 per episode for the seventh season if they extend their contracts for an eighth season. The rest of the main cast members would also be in line for higher salaries, but not on the same level as these five performers.
Related: Game of Thrones: Battle of the Bastards Review
However, Benioff and Weiss have also said that the seventh and eighth seasons of Game of Thrones may be significantly shorter, as in seven episodes for the season 7 and only six episodes for season 8. That could affect the final salary total, especially since not every character appears in every episode.
Amusingly, Deadline notes that the new contracts don’t guarantee the survival of the five leading characters portrayed by the previously mentioned performers. That’s cute, but who do they think that they’re kidding? Those characters were clearly meant to survive through the telling of this tale. But that’s not to say that one or two of them couldn’t be bumped off before the end. Even then, it’s not like death stopped Jon Snow’s comeback!
The official renewal will likely come down once HBO reaches the new deals with the cast members.
Are you excited about the endgame of the series? And do you think that the GoT cast is worth their new rate? Let us know in the comment section below!
