Final season of Game of Thrones to start shooting this October

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The end is nigh for GAME OF THRONES. The seventh and penultimate season of the show is currently airing (with two episodes left) after having started three months later than normal. This was due to a later fall shoot date to take advantage of the colder weather, a necessity given that winter has finally come for Westeros. This has led many to speculate if season 8 will do the same thing, and now we have confirmation from one of the show's stars that the show is indeed ready to start the final season's shoot very soon.

Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (who plays Jaime Lannister on the show) was speaking with Collider recently about his new movie, SHOT CALLER, and when talking about how he has no idea what happens to his character until right before they begin shooting he unveiled that the cast will get back to work this October.

I knew what was going to happen for the first three seasons. After that, it’s been a season at a time. You get the scripts a month before we start shooting, or six weeks, and then you know what’s going to happen that season. But, I don’t know what’s going to happen next season. We go back in October, so maybe in the next few weeks, we’ll get the scripts and I’ll find out. I’m very curious.

For the first six seasons, the show would shoot in summer, ensuring an April release date the following year (or March, for the first season). Given this last season started so late due to the fall shoot many figured the final season would do the same and would premiere in the summer of 2018. However, there had been some anxiety over the notion that the final season would actually take a year-long break and not air until 2019. This was said to be a possibility because of filming required for the larger scope of the episodes, and though there are only six episodes planned (down from seven this season, which is down from the normal 10) the length and scale of them is supposed to be far larger than any episode before. On top of that, it normally takes a good five-six months to shoot a season, and finishing in April may make a summer release too difficult.

As of now, there is no release date set for GOT season 8, but chances are HBO won’t invoke the wrath of fans and push it back an entire year. On the flip-side of the coin, the showrunners will want to take as much time to make sure the season is absolutely perfect before airing, and if they want to delay it then they will. For the sake of speculation, I’d say the October shoot is a good sign the show plans to air next summer, much like this current season did. I don’t doubt for a second that the episodes will be far grander than many we’ve seen before, but I’m not expecting the Battle of Helm’s Deep in each episode. I can’t imagine each episode being so big they need an extra year to flesh it all out, so until further notice, I would mark your calendars and save up those vacation days for somewhere between July and September 2018.

Source: Collider

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