Game of Thrones Final Season Won’t Air Until 2019

Image: HBO

They say the longer you wait for something, the more you will appreciate it when you get it.

As true as that may be, I think we can all agree that your favorite show being on an unbearably long hiatus is one of the worst forms of torture, and it looks like the Game of Thrones fandom will be waiting longer than some expected.

Series star Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark, revealed to Variety that the final season of HBO’s arguably most popular show won’t air until 2019.

Season eight began filming in October, and the network initially announced that there was a possible release date prepared for 2018. Turner’s interview confirmed that a 2019 premiere is more likely.  

Turner also mentioned that the cast and crew have about “six or seven months left” of filming. Adding on top of that timeline the post-production work, it makes sense why season eight may not grace our screens until 2019.

The wait might be a tough one, but fans can surely appreciate the effort the cast and crew are putting into what is gearing up to be one of the best final seasons of a series ever. With a story as beloved as Game of Thrones, there’s not much more we can ask for.

Filming the last six episodes is certainly taking an emotional toll on the cast, Turner discussed with Variety:

When we all had the read-through for the final season, it was very, very emotional. For the first time in ‘Thrones’ history, we had everyone there. All of the Americans wanted to come over. Every single cast member was pretty much there. We’re all kind of feeling the end of it coming. We’re all staying in town a little longer, going out for more meals, trying to get together more. We’re all trying not to take it for granted anymore.

With a shortened final season and longer-than-normal shoot, it comes as no surprise that each episode will be “longer” and “bigger,” according to Liam Cunningham, who plays Ser Davos Seaworth. Following in the footsteps of massive hits like Lost and Twin Peaks, the Game of Thrones filmmakers also have plans to film multiple endings in order to avoid spoilers before the final episodes air.

Entertainment Weekly points out that besides allowing the cast, production, and post-production teams to perfect every detail, premiering the eighth season in 2019 allows HBO to focus on Emmy awards publicity efforts and the promotion of the new season at separate times.

All-in-all, it sounds like GOT fans will not be disappointed with the climactic ending the creators have in store for us. When visiting the set in Belfast, former Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa, who played Khal Drogo in seasons one and two, claimed that the eighth and final season of the series is “going to be the greatest thing that’s ever aired on TV. It’s going to be unbelievable. It’s going to fuck up a lot of people.”