The final season of Game of Thrones is on the way, and while cast and crew members aren’t going to pull the curtain all the way back, several of them do give us a peek in a new cover story for TV & Satellite Week, a U.K. magazine. Let’s start at the top, with showrunner David Benioff explaining why the long wait for season 8 is a good thing:
"The final season has taken a long time because it’s the biggest thing we’ve ever done. Even though it’s six episodes, we spent nearly a full year in Belfast either prepping it or shooting it. It’s quite extraordinary what the crew and the actors have created, and I think when people see it they’ll understand why it took so long. It would have been really tough if we’d lost any core cast members along the way, so we’re very happy that we’ve kept everyone and we get to finish it the way we want to."
A lot of that is pretty close to what Benioff said to members of the press at the 2018 Emmy Awards, although the bit about the show being lucky it didn’t lose any cast members along the way is new, and accurate. People were mad when Daario Naharis changed actors. Can you imagine what would have happened if Daenerys were just played by someone new halfway through the show?
Speaking of cast members, the tease is strong with Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei). “It’s going to be incredibly exciting and heartbreaking,” she said of season 8. “People will have their minds blown by the final episode.”
We are fully on board with season 8 being “mind blowing,” although the “heartbreaking” bit gives us pause. We riot if they kill another dragon. Or Ser Davos. Or Bronn. Can we just not kill anyone? That seems reasonable for a show like this, right?
John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) also chimed in. “Every single episode in season eight is going to be monumental,” he said. “Viewers are going to get six ‘episode nines’ this year.” Be still my heart.
Finally, HBO programming president Casey Bloys discussed the possibility of a Game of Thrones reunion or sequel…by shooting it right out of the sky. “There will be no revival,” he said.
“This story is done.”
And that’s for the best, we think. Best to let this story stand on its own and move on HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel show, which is set thousands of years in the past where it’s impossible for any of our favorite characters to have a cameo.
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The article had a few other interesting tidbits, although these aren’t direct quotes from anyone.
- TV & Satellite Week writes that each of the final six episodes will “clock in at more than 60 minutes,” which more or less matches up with what we’ve heard.
- Remember that GIANT freaking King’s Landing set the crew built in Belfast? It cost “around $2 million” to make, or about double what we’d previously heard.
- Again, this isn’t a direct quote from anyone, but TV & Satellite Week writes that Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin “contributed storyline ideas for the final series.” It’s unclear if they’re talking about Martin telling the showrunners about his plan for the story years ago, which is common knowledge, or if this was something new.
We’ll find out the truth behind at least some of this when season 8 premieres on April 14.
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