Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were joined by Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark-Lannister-Bolton), for a panel discussion at SXSW on Sunday, where they discussed the HBO series’ upcoming seventh season. Unfortunately, the group didn’t reveal much in the way of plot spoilers or new footage, though we did find out that Season 8 will only run for six episodes.
While this isn’t particularly surprising, it is another sign that we’re heading into end-game territory with Game of Thrones, after what will also be an abbreviated seven-episode Season 7. The struggle for power within the seven kingdoms will likely soon give way to the even grander, and more consequential battle between the living and the dead, i.e. the White Walkers from beyond the Wall.
Kit Harington hinted -- in the vaguest conceivable terms -- at the epic scale of Season 7’s episodes in an interview with ABC News, saying the upcoming season is “much grander” and shows “so much more ambition." Harington also suggested that while there may be fewer episodes, fans will be getting more bang for their buck: "There are less episodes this year, so they spent more money on those episodes. So, the whole scale of it is up."
READ : 'Game Of Thrones' Season 7 Is 'Much Grander,' Says Kit Harington
After Sunday’s SXSW event, the GoT fans behind the Storm of Spoilers Twitter page also noted the Season 8 writing assignments have already been doled out. You can check them out below:
Season 8 writing assignments:
— Dave & Neil’s Pop Culture Adventure (@Da7eAndNeil) March 12, 2017
Episode 1: Dave Hill
Episode 2: Bryan Cogman
The other 4: Weiss and Benioff#SXSW #GoT
We very much hope to see Arya Stark put a big dent in her kill list in Season 7 and Season 8, but it seems there’s precious little time, especially given that set leaks lead us to suspect she’ll likely head home to Winterfell instead of heading down to King’s Landing or Casterly Rock to seek her bloody vengeance. Let’s hope there’s time for both, and maybe good old Nymeria can enjoy a few tasty bites of Arya’s mortal enemies, too.
READ : 'Game of Thrones' Season 7 Spoilers: Arya Finds Nymeria? What The Direwolf's Return Could Mean For Her Storyline
What do you think of the plans for an abbreviated final season of Game of Thrones? Are you excited to see how it all ends or sorry to see the series go? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
