Apparently, Season 8 of “Game of Thrones” will be really short by TV standards.
This was confirmed by showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss during a panel discussion for the show at this year’s South by Southwest festival on Sunday, Nerdist reports. This means that overall, fans will only expect a combined 13 episodes for Season 7 and 8 ahead of its July 16 debut.
Prior to the confirmation, Benioff and Weiss told Variety that the number of episodes to conclude the Emmy-winning saga of Westeros and the battle for the Iron Throne was based on how far they think they can take the story. However, some sources debunked this theory, and believed that as the showrunners are still working on Season 8 and are still in the process of outlining their plans, the exact number of seasons (or episodes) are premature.
Benioff said, “I think we’re down to our final 13 episodes after this season. We’re heading into the final lap. That’s the guess, though nothing is yet set in stone, but that’s what we’re looking at.”
And to address theories about the duo turning on into other modes to continue the fantasy drama outside television, it seems that the two are quite happy with where they at, even admitting that they thought “Game of Thrones” is a very, very long, “73-hour movie,” Polygon reports.
Meanwhile, did you know Ed Sheeran, who has been confirmed to appear in Season 7, is not the only artist who made a cameo in the series? Artists who made an appearance in “Game of Thrones” include members of the metal band Mastodon (as undead Wildlings in Season 5), Sigur Ros (who played a dour The National cover of “The Rains of Castamere” at King Joffrey’s wedding), Coldplay drummer Will Champion (as a drummer of course at the infamous Red Wedding episode), Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody (belting out the “Song of Fire and Ice” tune “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” in this scene), and Of Monsters and Men as the accompanying members of the Braavosi players.
