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‘Game Of Thrones’ Fans Might Have To Wait Two Years For The Final Season: Are Spin-Offs In The Works?

By Pieter Howes
Published on: 02:11 PST, Jun 3, 2017

While Game of Thrones fans are practically chomping at the bit in anticipation of the late May release of the next season, the show producers recently revealed that the upcoming Season 7 will have fewer episodes than usual and will include a release delay. However, the new Game of Thrones storyline is set to move a lot faster than previous seasons.

The president of programming at Home Box Office (HBO), Casey Bloys, recently told Entertainment Weekly that the next season of Game of Thrones has one more element that might frustrate fans – the penultimate episode will only air a few months after the episode before. But wait, there’s more.

Season 8 of Game of Thrones is slated to premiere in 2019, which means that series disciples will be waiting longer than usual before they’ll be able to witness the final season of the runaway hit HBO drama. All is not lost, however, because there is an excellent reason for torturing viewers in this way.

Bloys said that the planned delays in the Game of Thrones schedule had everything to do with bringing die-hard fans the very best in storytelling.

“[The showrunners] have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule. We’ll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing.”

That’s not so bad then. In fact, it will likely please viewers to know that the Game of Thrones team is so completely committed to bringing the epic saga to a satisfactory close. Bloys added that “making Game of Thrones as good as possible is the number one goal, and then we’ll see about these scripts,” he said.

“You’re not going to see a situation where the next show in the Game of Thrones universe launches off the back of this one.”

Hang on, what does he mean by the next show in the Game of Thrones universe?

As announced in the interview with Entertainment Weekly, Game of Thrones has a spin-off in the works. The best possible news for fans. It provides some solace after the news that the show will end with Season 8.

But what would an extension of the adventures in Westeros look like? Apparently, we’re going to be treated to a series that will serve as a Game of Thrones prequel. Casey Bloys explained that he wants to “put the prequels in context. It should go without saying I love having a show with this much intense interest around it.”

But Bloys is quick to warn eager fans that while he appreciates that “even the smallest bit of information is a big deal” he wants to make it absolutely clear that, at this stage, the process is “really embryonic.”

“I haven’t even seen outlines. In the press at large, everybody said, ‘there are four spinoffs’ and they assume that means each one is happening and we’re going to have a new Game of Thrones show per quarter. That’s not what’s going on. The idea is not to do four shows.”

However, series creator, George R.R. Martin expressed a little more confidence in the inevitability of the Game of Thrones prequels. In fact, Martin seems a bit more confident that there will be at least five new spin-offs.

In an update posted by George R.R. Martin on his Livejournal page, he divulged the possibility of five Game of Thrones spin-offs for the HBO phenomenon. Martin was also adamant that fans should not expect the characters they have come to know and love so much during Game of Thrones. It shouldn’t be that hard because no characters are ever safe from elimination in the world of Westeros.

Martin says they “had four scripts in development when I arrived in LA last week, but by the time I left we had five.” He also noted that the television industry is a “fast-moving business” which means that anything could still happen.

“We have added a fifth writer to the original four. No, I will not reveal the name here. HBO announced the names of the first four, and will no doubt announce the fifth as well, once his deal has closed.”

Who could it be? Well, for now at least, Martin assures audiences that the new writer is “a really terrific addition,” and that he’s also a “great guy and a fine writer.”

According to Martin, the Game of Thrones prequels will still be rooted in Westeros, but will also be expanding into “the world beyond.” Come on, Martin. Don’t string us along like that. We have to wait so long before we know what awaits in the “world beyond.”

George RR. Martin taunts us even more as he writes, “I can’t tell you what the shows will be about (well, I could, but I won’t), but I will tell you a couple of things they WON’T be.”

“We’re not doing Dunk & Egg. Eventually, sure, I’d love that, and so would many of you. But I’ve only written and published three novellas to date, and there are at least seven or eight or ten more I want to write. We all know how slow I am, and how fast a television show can move.”

According to Martin, they won’t be “doing Robert’s Rebellion either.” He even acknowledges the petition fans have set up to demand a series of Robert’s Rebellion but adds that “by the time I finish writing A Song of Ice and Fire, you will know every important thing that happened in Robert’s Rebellion.”

Martin explains that he doesn’t want to repeat the frenzied pace of the Game of Thrones story development, where the series got way ahead of the books. The writer urges fans to make predictions about future events “if you like… but I am not going to be confirming or denying anything, so don’t expect replies.” Gee, thanks for leaving us hanging, Martin.

In the meantime, the hype and build up towards the release of Game of Thrones Season 7 has been keeping fans on the edge of their seats. Just in case you haven’t already, check out the Game of Thrones trailer below and let us know what you think.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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