The final season of Game of Thrones doesn’t have an official return date yet, but the final six episodes will air in 2019.
HBO programming president Casey Bloys revealed that Game of Thrones will return in the “first half” of next year.
Bloys also spoke about the Game of Thrones prequel by showrunner Jane Goldman during the Television Critics Association’s press tour on Wednesday.
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The series sets out to chronicle the world’s tumble from grace into its most dark, horrific era. It’s unclear what the world of Westeros looks like that far into the past, so it’s unclear at this juncture if we’ll see the origins of the White Walkers, or if we get a glimpse into the lives of the early Starks, Targaryens or Greyjoys.
Many outlets had been reporting that the prequel would start shooting in October, but Bloys said that is not the case.
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Bloys confirmed the prequel won’t start shooting until early 2019. He said that the show hasn’t even been cast yet and noted the project is still searching for a director.
“I don’t know where that report came from, we’re hoping to go into production in early ’19,” Bloys said.
Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin worked with Goldman on the project, but she will serve as showrunner. Both Martin and Goldman, along with two others, will be executive producers of the upcoming pilot.
—With files from Chris Jancelewicz