HBO’s flagship juggernaut “Game Of Thrones” is coming to a close in 2019. It’s hard to believe that after all this time, ten years and seven seasons, there’s only six episodes left and that we’ll finally see a rightful ruler sit on the Iron Throne (unless Cersei keeps it, of course). But it’s not quite the end for the world created by George R.R Martin. Wisely, considering all the mega bucks it brings in, HBO has several spin-off ideas in development. But don’t be surprised if you only see one.
“I’ll do anywhere from zero to five! (Laughs.) Though probably more likely one. But we’ll see,” HBO Programming President Casey Bloys said at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour.
READ MORE: The 10 Best Episodes of ‘Game of Thrones’
The development is possibly not unlike the “Transformers” writing room which culled nearly a dozen writers to come up with several movies, but for now, only a couple seem to be serious contenders. And no matter how many shows they green light, you won’t see any of them sooner than 2020.
“There are five of them. If we do a pilot and series, nothing is going to air on HBO until at least a year after the final season. We’re not doing a final season and then, ‘Following it at 11 pm.…’ I’ve seen some exciting material. We have really great writers working on these; it’s very exciting. But there’s no timetable,” Bloys said. “Not everybody is on the same schedule, so I’ve seen different versions of different things that are potentially exciting. But there’s no timetable about when a decision would be made about any of them.”
It sounds like HBO is trying to do it right, rather than rush a show into production as soon as “Game Of Thrones” is done.
The final six episodes of “Game Of Thrones” might each be super-sized epics, but possibly not and no one knows how long they will be right now. “Episode length, I have no idea yet what it’s going to be,” Bloys explained. “It really will be dependent on when the showrunners get the cuts and what they’re happy with. Everything on ‘Game of Thrones’ is driven by their desire to make the best show possible. When we’re going to air, how long the episodes are — we’re taking their lead on what they need.”
Bloys shut down a lot of speculation too. Don’t expect the door open for a revival or somehow undoing the ending so the characters can come back one day. “That’s not happening. This story — ‘A Song of Fire and Ice‘ — is done. There’s no revival, reboot, spinoff talk.”
Maybe an IMAX screening to make more noise about it? “On the air, for subscribers [only],” he said. Sorry.
Whatever happens, Bloys is confident it’s all going to end well. “The [episodes are] great. It’s fantastic. The fans are going to be very, very happy.”