Like winter before it, Game of Thrones’ end is coming. We may not like to think about Seasons 7 and 8 bringing an end to the world of Westeros, but according to HBO, the main saga may not wrap at least 2019. Not only is the final Game of Thrones season currently unscheduled, but any and all spinoffs might not air until well-after.

HBO boss Casey Bloys provided an update to Entertainment Weekly, in the process reiterating that the five Game of Thrones spinoffs in development are in no way guaranteed to air. Rather, the network is hopeful even one of the proposed series measures up to the main series for a pickup, but – even then – “you’re not going to see anything air anytime close to the season 8 finale.”

On that particular note, Bloys revealed that the final Game of Thrones season is not explicitly guaranteed to air in 2018, even after an already-shortened order for Season 7 pushed the usual spring airdate to summer:

So as of now, the final season could air in 2018 and/or in 2019 depending on [David Benioff and Dan Weiss’] needs?

Yeah. They 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.

Among other details, Bloys also specified that author George R.R. Martin’s spinoff involvement varied by project, and that no cast from the current series are expected to return in any capacity. As Martin himself has explained, all five projects are prequels set at various points before the main series.

We’ve still Game of Thrones Season 7 to carry us through July and August, but are we settling in for another long winter before the final season?

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