HBO Exec Talks Game of Thrones Prequel Possibility, Season 8 Length

Game of Thrones is set to wrap up with Season 8. But how many episodes can viewers expect in the supposedly final season? HBO programming president Casey Bloys told Entertainment Weekly that nothing has been decided yet, despite the suggestion that there will be seven episodes of Season 7 and six for Season 8.

"They're still figuring out the shape of the season, what they want to do," Bloys said, referencing Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss. "I'll take as many as they want to do. If they give me eight, I'll want 10. But it's really up to them. They'll let me know."

Season 7 is supposedly going to premiere this summer, which is somewhat later than usual.

Also in Entertainment Weekly's interview, Bloys teased that HBO is thinking about extending the Game of Thrones series with a spinoff that could be a prequel.

"It's such a big property we would be foolish not to explore it, but it's a pretty high bar," he said. "We'll take some shots at it. I’m not going to do it just to do it. It has to feel very special. I would rather have no sequel and leave it as-is then have something we rushed out."

"A prequel feels like it has less pressure on it [than a spinoff]," Bloys added. "[Author George R.R. Martin's history of Westeros] gives you areas in which to say to a writer, 'If you were going to do this, then go flesh it out,' and we’ll see what comes back. But I don't feel any pressure that we have to have something."

Would you like to see a Game of Thrones prequel? Let us know in the comments below!