- HBO has confirmed that "Game of Thrones" will return in 2019.
- The eighth and final season will only be six episodes in total.
- The exact time of year it will air is still unknown.
It's official — "Game of Thrones" fans will have to wait until 2019 for the eighth and final season of HBO's hit series. In a press release sent out Thursday afternoon, HBO confirmed the longstanding reports that "Game of Thrones" will not be returning to television this year.
Previously, HBO programming president Casey Bloys had indicated that 2019 was a likely possibility. "Game of Thrones" star Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) also said the series would air in 2019.
Here's the full press release from HBO:
Your readers may be interested to know that the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones" will return for its six-episode, eighth and final season in 2019.Directors for the new season are: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik. Writers for the new season are: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill.Season seven credits: The executive producers of "Game of Thrones" are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield; co-executive producers, Bryan Cogman, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and George R.R. Martin.
The final season of "Game of Thrones" will be six episodes in total, though fans should be thrilled to know each episode might be more than an hour in length. "Game of Thrones" sound designer Paula Fairfield broke this important news at the first annual Con of Thrones.
According to Fairfield, the final season could consist of six feature film-length episodes.
Though we don't know details of the episode order or length, an individual with knowledge of the situation tells INSIDER that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss themselves will likely direct the final episode of the series.
Benioff and Weiss have already co-directed two "Game of Thrones" episodes: The season four premiere ("Two Swords") and the third episode of season three ("Walk of Punishment").
Miguel Sapochnik will also return to direct two of the final "Game of Thrones" episodes. Sapochnik is the notable director of the series' most acclaimed episodes: "Hardhome," "Battle of the Bastards," and season six finale "The Winds of Winter."
Sapochnik was unable to return for season seven due to scheduling conflicts, so fans should be thrilled to see he's back for the final installment of the series.
The third and final director for "Game of Thrones" season eight is David Nutter, who helmed season three's devastating Red Wedding chapter, "The Rains of Castamere," and the award-winning finale of season five, "Mother's Mercy."
We'll have to wait out the year for the final installment of HBO's biggest hit series of all time. For those of you impatient to learn the fates of your favorite characters, read our list of 21 key predictions we have for season eight in the meantime.