Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have previously stated their desire to conclude the series within seven seasons, and a few months ago saw HBO take a step towards that by optioning the cast for a further two seasons.
Credit: HBO
"We see the light at the end of the tunnel. We still have a long way to go and things to figure out, but we definitely know where we're heading and the major end-beats", Benioff explained.
Now HBO have controversially stated that they'd prefer not to end with season seven, but they're willing to do so if they must.
HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo says: "This is the hard part of what we do. We started this journey with David and Dan. It's their vision. Would I love the show to go 10 years as both a fan and a network executive? Absolutely."
So now with the producers wanting seven seasons and HBO wanting more, what happens next? "We'll have an honest conversation that explores all possible avenues," says Lombardo.
"If they weren't comfortable going beyond seven seasons, I trust them implicitly and trust that's the right decision - as horrifying as that is to me. What I'm not going to do is have a show continue past where the creators believe where they feel they've finished with the story."
He also doesn't seem keen on the idea of ending Game of Thrones with a feature film, stating: "when you start a series with our subscribers, the promise is that for your HBO fee that we're going to take you to the end of this. I feel that on some level [a movie would be] changing the rules: Now you have to pay $16 to see how your show ends."
For now, Weiss says that his biggest priority is giving the show the strongest possible ending.
"We want to go out on our absolute highest note. We don't want people to finally see the end and say, 'Thank God that's over.'"
Benioff added: "We know basically how many hours are left in this story. We don't want to add 10 hours to that. It's about finding that sweet spot so it works for us and for HBO and, most of all, it works for the audience."
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