'Game of Thrones' Season 8 News: HBO Finally Confirms 2019 Release
After months of speculations, HBO reportedly confirmed that the finale season of "Game of Thrones" will not be released this year.
Since "Game of Thrones" was first shown on HBO, the show has premiered new seasons every year. However, this is set to change as the show's eighth and final installment will skip this year. The report first came from Entertainment Weekly, which said HBO has already confirmed a 2019 release.
According to reports, the directorial credits will include showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss along with David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik. Benioff and Weiss will also share the writers room with Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill.
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From the time season 7 ended until this week, HBO and showrunners refused to confirm whether the "Game of Thrones" finale will air this year or not. However, there have already been several indications that season 8 will be delayed.
One of the clear proofs that "Game of Thrones" season 8 is not slated to premiere this year is the fact that the filming of the show is yet to commence. But the same Entertainment Weekly report says the production will likely begin this summer.
While the 2019 premiere has been confirmed, other details about the final season of "Game of Thrones" are still under wraps.
However, HBO chief Casey Bloys has previously confirmed that the season 8 episodes will be much longer than the previous installments.
Bloys said: "I imagine they'll be longer but . . . I'm not sure [how long]. We haven't had that discussion yet ... Two hours per episode seems like it would be excessive, but it's a great show, so who knows?"
Meanwhile, cast member Iain Glen also said in an earlier interview with Radio Times that the filming of season 8 will take up more time compared to the previous seasons. This is because the production team will be concentrated in the same locations since all the remaining characters will be sharing scenes more than they did before.
