Since HBO aired the season seven finale of Game of Thrones in August, we’ve been left with a dragon-sized void in the television landscape, as well as a gnawing sense of uncertainty about when the epic fantasy series will return for its blockbuster of a final season. Today, HBO has put an end to that uncertainty by confirming that GoT will indeed be back in 2019.
Star Sophie Turner actually already let this particular raven slip last month. When asked about her upcoming slate, the actress behind Sansa Stark said, “Yeah, I’m really excited. Game of Thrones comes out in 2019. [X-Men:] Dark Phoenix is in November. Then I have a couple indie movies coming out. I’m a producer on my next movie [Girl Who Fell From the Sky]. So I’m really excited about the future.” We’ll second that, especially now that we have a definitive release year for GoT’s grand finale, which is being shot now, with protecting plot details as a top priority. “It’s going to be the greatest thing that’s ever aired on TV,” GoT actor Jason Momoa told EW in November. “It’s going to be unbelievable. It’s going to fuck up a lot of people.”
As revealed in September, HBO’s announcement notes that GoT’s six-episode eighth season will feature the directorial talents of David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik, with Benioff & Weiss, Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill handling writing duties. The show’s executive producers include Benioff, Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield, plus co-executive producers Cogman, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and George R.R. Martin. And HBO is also in the process of developing a whopping five GoT prequel series, so we have those to look forward to, as well, although none are guaranteed to get the green light.
Start the countdown to next year now, and stay tuned for when HBO narrows that wide release window down—there’s no word whatsoever on when in 2019 GoT will return.