Game of Thrones type TV Show network HBO Where to watch Close Streaming Options

The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones will indeed only be six episodes long, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss said Sunday.

“It’s only going to be six episodes for the final season,” Benioff said during a featured speaker panel at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. “From the beginning we’ve wanted to tell a 70-hour movie. It will turn out to be a 73-hour movie, but it’s stayed relatively the same of having the beginning, middle and now we’re coming to the end. It would have been really tough if we lost any core cast members along the way, I’m very happy we’ve kept everyone and we get to finish it the way we want to.”

HBO has yet to announce the episode count for season 8, but with the upcoming seventh season now wrapped and the showrunners preparing the final run, the writer-producers seem certain of the number of hours, noting they’ve already divvied up who gets to write each episode.

“We argued over who got to kill Sansa,” Benioff quipped (and, yes, it was meant as a joke).

During the talk, producers also confirmed they will not be involved with any Game of Thrones spinoff or prequel series that HBO comes up with. “I think HBO might well do [another series] and I look forward to watching it and I think it be great, but I think they should get new blood in,” Benioff said.

The panel discussion featured producers Benioff and Weiss along with Thrones stars Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark). No footage was screened from the upcoming season and the team did not reveal any spoilers, but there was plenty of playful banter that addressed fun fan-friendly topics.

The actresses asked their showrunners which actors whose characters died during the series, they would bring back if possible. At the question, several in the audience shouted “Hodor!” But the producers answered Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark) and Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon).

And has there ever been an actor slated to exit the show and they changed their minds about killing off the character? Yup, once: actor Noah Taylor, who played the murderous Locke. Taylor was originally scheduled to depart the show during the bear pit scene at the end of the third season but stuck around another year.

In another death question, the foursome discussed which death scene was their favorite.

Williams: Viserys Targaryen.

Turner: Prince Oberyn Martell.

Weiss: Joffrey.

Benioff: Ramsay Bolton.

Asked which TV show was their current favorite aside from GoT:

Williams: American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson.

Turner: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Weiss: Atlanta.

Benioff: Rick and Morty.

Another topic: The worst scene they ever shot — a scene that was cut from the heavily reshot Thrones pilot: “There’s a scene in the pilot that might be the worst scene we’ve ever written — probably the most embarrassing — with the Stark boys and Jon Snow and Theon. They’re all shaving each other — like getting their haircut. And they were all shirtless, and it’s like, ‘Wait, why is this in here?’ And the only reason it was in there was no continuity between scenes in the pilot where their beards are all different [due to how much the actors had grown from when the pilot first started shooting to when it was re-shot a year later]. And if you look closely, you could tell they were all flexing because they’re shirtless. They’re all flexing their abs.”

“They were all doing crunches all day between takes,” Weiss said.

“I remember that the day before [Theon actor Alfie Allen] had starved himself of water,” Williams added.

There was plenty of chat, too, of on-set pranks, which we’ve previously compiled. The producers also announced the seventh season would guest star singer Ed Sheeran.

On the subject of controlling leaks on the show, the anti-spoiler showrunners said they’ve resigned themselves to the idea that it’s “virtually impossible” to prevent some secrets from getting out.

“The CIA can’t keep information private,” Benioff said.

“Should we just tell everybody what the ending is?” Weiss teased. “It’s a lot of work to shoot this. We could just tell everyone.”

Image zoom Amy E. Price/Getty Images

Thrones returns to HBO for its seventh season on July 16.

Episode Recaps Previous The most memorable shipper moments of 2019 By Samantha Highfill

The 30 most shocking TV moments of 2019 By EW Staff

See photos of the Game of Thrones cast celebrating their last Emmys together By Tyler Aquilina

See the best Game of Thrones moments from Comic-Con 2019 By Nick Romano

Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke's adorable friendship, on and off the Game of Thrones set By Tyler Aquilina

All the times Emilia Clarke and Jason Momoa had a mini-Game of Thrones reunion By Tyler Aquilina

The 10 best couples on Game of Thrones (and 3 dishonorable mentions) By Tyler Aquilina

See all of EW's epic Game of Thrones covers By Jessica Derschowitz

Game of Thrones: 14 never-before-released final season photos By James Hibberd

All the Game of Thrones seasons, ranked By Darren Franich

Look back at the biggest Game of Thrones cameos By Derek Lawrence

Check out HBO's new Game of Thrones season 8 merch By EW Staff

S8 E3 Recap Game of Thrones recap of Winterfell battle: A dark, epic bloodbath By James Hibberd

See Game of Thrones stars with and without their beards By Jillian Sederholm

11 of the best Game of Thrones gifts for diehard fans By Alex Warner

S8 E1 Recap Game of Thrones season 8 premiere recap: Jon finds out By James Hibberd

Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness breaks down the best hair on Game of Thrones By Piya Sinha-Roy

25 of TV's best opening credit sequences By EW Staff

See Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner at Game of Thrones premieres through the years By Lauren Morgan

See all the stars at the Game of Thrones premiere after-party By EW Staff

See all the Game of Thrones stars at the season 8 premiere By James Hibberd

Valar morghulis: 20 Game of Thrones stars look back on their character deaths By Nick Romano

Game of Thrones storyboard artist breaks down the death of Jon Snow By Christian Holub Next