L-R: Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei, and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen/Image courtesy of HBO(LOS ANGELES) — Game of Thrones showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff tell Deadline they have a series ending planned.
“We’ve been talking about the ending, from the beginning,” Benioff says. “It’s a strange phenomenon, we’re in this territory where you are walking on your own and can’t rely on the written material anymore,” because the show has now surpassed the books in content.
Thrones creator George R. R. Martin is still working on the next book.
Weiss said the goal is to have fans “leave while all the people watching this show are really into it. Get out at a high point and not have it be, ‘Well, thank God that’s over.'”
Benioff added, “It’s two more seasons we’re talking about.” “From pretty close to the beginning, we talked about doing this in 70 to 75 hours, and that’s what we’ll end up with. Call it 73 for now,” he added.
“We’ve known the end for quite some time and we’re hurtling towards it,” Benioff continues. “hose last images from the show that aired [Sunday] night showed that. Daenerys is finally coming back to Westeros; Jon Snow is King of the North and Cersei is sitting on the Iron Throne. And we know the Night King is up there, waiting for all of them. The pieces are on the board now.”
There are reports the two seasons will be shorter, with as few as 13 episodes total between them.
For the pair, the most important thing is that it’s one story, not an ongoing show. “We wanted to something where, if people watched it end to end, it would make sense as one continuous story,” Benioff said.
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