"Game of Thrones" Season 7 will be shorter than the past seasons as GoT showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have already confirmed that the 2017 instalment of the HBO fantasy-drama series will only spread in seven episodes. But fans asking for more may get their wish - a Season 8 that could stretch as many as 10 episodes in 2018.
That's the thought recently voiced out by Casey Bloys, programming president for HBO. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bloys expressed hope that for next year Game of Thrones will run longer than the 7-episode GoT Season 7 that Benioff and Weiss will deliver. Speculations are rife that after Season 7, only six more hours are left to be told on the story of the families contesting to rule Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms.
So it's a fair conclusion that Season 8 will only run for no more than six episodes though Benioff and Weiss have yet to confirm on this. And if Bloys would have his way, "I'll want 10."
But then again, the final word on the matter will come from Benioff and Weiss, and there remains a chance that for the final season run Game of Thrones will return to the 10 episodes per annual serving model. That's because according to Bloys nothing is set in stone as far as GoT Season 8 is concerned.
In fact, everything is up in the air as HBO revealed that for GoT S8 the showrunners are "still figuring out the shape of the season, what they want to do." In the end though, the length and texture of Game of Thrones Season will all depend on what Benioff and Weiss see best.
"But it's really up to them. They'll let me know," Bloys was reported by EW as saying.
In the same way, the GoT showrunners get to determine the exact serving of Game of Thrones Season 7, which HBO said will have seven episodes. But actor Iain Glen recently teased that fans will not be necessarily getting less of the GoT fix as each of the Season 7 episodes are likely to run longer than usual.
And even the Game of Thrones Season 7 premiere is yet to be scheduled though the filming will soon wrap up. HBO has already indicated that from the usual broadcast start of April it will be a summer airing this 2017 for GoT. To be exact, it will be a mid-summer S7 premiere for Game of Thrones, Bloys told IGN in an interview.