Everyone’s just waiting for the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, and we got our latest update on it: Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark, posted a bloody photo on Instagram saying goodbye to the show.
She captioned her photo with, “goodbye, Belfast. Goodbye, Arya. Goodbye, Game of Thrones. What a joy I’ve had. here’s to the adventures to come #lastwomanstanding #barely#immasleepforthenextfouryears#justkiddingidontsleep“
In the past, Williams told Metro, “We wrap in December and we air our first episode in April [2019]. That’s a four-month turnaround for these huge episodes. There’s a lot that goes into the final edit. You would not want to rush this season at all. We owe it to our audience and our fans to really do this final season to the best of our abilities.”
It echoes the statement of Casey Bloys, chief of HBO, when he talked to Entertainment Weekly about why the series finale will be aired in 2019: “They take the time they need to do the show at its highest level of quality. As the show has gone on, it’s gotten bigger — big battle scenes, big special effects. These things take time. Here’s the one thing I can assure you: Dan [Weiss] and Dave [Benioff] were not sitting around on a beach waiting to go back to work. They’re perfectionists and this is the soonest it can come back at a level of quality that they are comfortable with.”
Fans need not worry about the series ending as there’s always the possibility of spinoffs happening.
As early as May of last year, HBO is developing four spin-offs to the series. One has already been announced, and will be a prequel and will be set in an era called “The Age of Heroes”—a dark time in Westerosi history 10,000 years ago.
The move may be considered unusual, as the network has never created a spinoff or a follow-up of its shows. But it’s understandable when you consider the show’s success: Game of Thrones is HBO’s most-watched and longest-running series, and has received 38 Primetime Emmy Awards, the most for any TV series.
Game of Thrones is an adaptation of Martin’s fantasy series of novels and follows different dynasties as they aim to succeed the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.
