You might have to wait until 2019 for the final season of Game of Thrones

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Quick! Somebody go and find Melisandre! When you do, tell her that we desperately need some of her priestess magic cast on the suspected production timeline for the final season of GAME OF THRONES. Run! Run, you fools!

Last night, HBO aired the final episode of GAME OF THRONES Season 7. In fact, we've got a review for it by our own Paul Shirey right here. I happened to watch the finale as well, and all I've got to say is hot damn! So, with fans just now returning from this year's annual trip to the Seven Kingdoms, the question remains: How long do we have to wait until we can see more? Well, this is the part of our article where things take a turn for the grim.

* cue off-tune, crackly Game of Thrones waiting room-like music * 

Aye, so production on the eighth season of George R.R. Martin's fantasy epic are scheduled to begin in October and run straight through until as late as August 2018. If sources are correct, it could mean that the 6-episode long final season may run into 2019 – making it a 16-month wait between seasons. While HBO has yet to comment or confirm the timeline, I'm sure that there are plenty of fans who are climbing the walls for some more concrete information.

Recently, HBO programming president Casey Bloys told The Hollywood Reporter that, "Our production people are trying to figure out a timeline for the shoot and how much time the special effects take. The shooting is complicated enough — on different continents, with all the technical aspects — and the special effects are a whole other production period that we're trying to figure out. That is a big factor in all of this." 

Damn. It's always easier to be mad at circumstances like these when the reason for the wait isn't perfectly reasonable. Anyway, there is a lighthouse in the fog of all this waiting. You can take comfort in the fact that GAME OF THRONES showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have all six episodes plotted out and are working in tandem with the production team to divise a schedule that makes sense for everyone involved.

To tell you the truth, I'm still buzzing off of last night's supremely intense episode. And while I'm positive that I could summon a biblical lament for the idea of waiting until 2019 to see more of the show, I'm content to wait a while for one of my favorite show's final bow.

Now that Season 7 has ended, it's time to bust out the boxed sets and start the series all over again!