The great war begins 7.16.
— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) May 24, 2017
Rally the realm. Share the official #GameofThrones Season 7 trailer. #GoTS7 pic.twitter.com/R3K5dm8ecc
The HBO show Game Of Thrones is making its highly anticipated return to television this summer on July 16, for a shorter, six episode season. Not only will the seventh season be shorter, but the eighth and final season may not come for more than another year.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, HBO programming president Casey Bloys confirmed that the final season will likely not be out until late 2018 or early 2019.
"They have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule," said Bloys. "We’ll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing."
Bloys also revealed that while HBO is looking into spinoff series and prequels for Game Of Thrones, nothing is set in stone, and it is likely that the original showrunners will not be on the following projects.
"By the time the final season airs, Dan and David will have been at this for 12 years," explained Bloys."They want to enjoy the show as fans and don’t want to worry about the scripts or production issues."
The seventh season of Game Of Thrones will air on HBO on July 16.