The downside of making Game of Thrones' final season incredibly "cinematic" is that fans might be waiting close to two years for it to arrive.
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Final preparations for the concluding season of the Primetime Emmy Award-winning fantasy drama series are under way now that season 7 is over.
But in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, HBO president Casey Bloys acknowledged that producers David Benioff and DB Weiss's dedication to sticking the landing means the shortened season eight might air in 2019, rather than next year.
Related: Game of Thrones season 8 – everything you need to know
"They have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule," Bloys acknowledged. "We'll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing."
What Bloys is sure of is that the epic battle that we all presume will end Game of Thrones will be as impressive as anything you'd see in a Marvel movie.
"One of the hallmarks of the show has been how cinematic it is," the executive said. "The show has proven that TV is every bit as impressive and in many cases more so, than film. What they're doing is monumental.
"When you see these battles in season 7, and what I imagine season 8 will be, it's a big, big show. We've done a lot of great shows, but this one combines the complex characters we love with a huge cinematic scope.
"I think this is the first show to prove that can be done — and we're the first people to pay for it."
HBO is currently developing multiple Game of Thrones prequels to air in the future, but Bloys has also clarified that he's only intending for one of those projects to actually make it to our screens.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
