Game of Thrones fans rejoice! HBO president of programming Michael Lombardo has revealed during the Television Critics Association summer press tour that the epic fantasy series will run for at least eight seasons, and could potentially expand to include a prequel.
“Seven-seasons-and-out has never been the [internal] conversation,” said Lombardo. “The question is: How much beyond seven are we going to do? Obviously we’re shooting six now, hopefully discussing seven. [Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss are] feel like there’s two more years after six. I would always love for them to change their minds, but that’s what we’re looking at right now.”
Lombardo also discussed the possibility of a prequel series, stating that: “I would be open to anything that Dan and David wanted to do—about Game of Thrones, or any subject matter. It really would depend fully on what they wanted to do. I think you’re right, there’s enormous storytelling to be mined in a prequel, if George and Dan and David decide they want to tackle that. At this point, all the focus is on the next few years of the show. We haven’t had any conversations about that at this point.”
And as for the speculation surrounding the fate of Kit Harington’s Jon Snow – especially given that Harington has been spotted in Belfast, where production on season six is underway – Lombardo added that: “Dead is dead is dead. He be dead. Everything I’ve seen, heard and read, Jon Snow is indeed dead.”
https://youtu.be/IWWtOQOZSTI?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published July 31, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
