HBO has officially confirmed that Game of Thrones season 8 will be the end of the series, as widely expected. There won’t be any more seasons, and (thank goodness) there won’t be a movie. It’s all coming to an end, and reports pretty uniformly say that there are just a little more than a dozen episodes left. But here’s the really big news: HBO has confirmed that spinoff series are a real possibility. It’s not just unsubstantiated rumors now.

Game of Thrones Spinoffs Officially On The Table After Season 8

In an interview with EW (via io9), HBO programming boss Casey Bloys confirmed for the first time that showrunners Benioff and Weiss will get their wish of ending the show after two more seasons—and that the last two would be abbreviated, with the number of season 8 episodes not yet final. We’re really winding down to the end here.

Bloys noted that the idea of spinoffs to Game of Thrones has been floated before, and he’s down for them, if it makes creative sense. GRRM has also expressed interest in such things, especially in the form of a spinoff of the Dunk and Egg stories, set ninety years before Game of Thrones, during the height of Targaryen rule. Other options include an account of Aegon’s Conquest, three hundred years before. Any farther back than that and you’re leaving too much of what’s familiar behind—the same problem The Silmarillion has compared to Lord of the Rings.

Is it a done deal that we’re going to get Game of Thrones spinoffs? No, and it probably won’t be for years. It depends on whether it makes sense creatively, whether somebody will champion the project and take the lead on it (don’t expect it from Benioff and Weiss), how much George R. R. Martin wants for the rights if they aren’t already included, and all that sort of thing. Still, it’s an exciting prospect. And sure, a Targaryen-era spinoff isn’t going to have quite the same level of excitement and politicking. But, like Better Call Saul, it could be a slightly lighter drama, and just as exciting and entertaining.