Moviefone Editorial

Tag: game-of-thrones-ending

  • George R.R. Martin Says Negative ‘Game of Thrones’ Reactions Won’t Change His Book Ending

    George R.R. Martin Says Negative ‘Game of Thrones’ Reactions Won’t Change His Book Ending

    HBO

    For what feels like forever (but has actually been eight years), author George R.R. Martin has been toiling away on the final two installments of his “A Song of Ice and Fire” series — a.k.a., the novels on which the recently-wrapped HBO series “Game of Thrones” was based. Now that that show has signed off, and Martin has heard all of the reactions to its controversial finale, will the writer be making any changes to his manuscripts?

    If you’ve been following Martin at all over the years, you’ll be unsurprised to learn that the answer is a resounding “No.” In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the outspoken author admitted that there was some temptation to alter some of his more surprising twists, now that some suspense will be gone for readers.

    But Martin said that doing so would be “wrong,” because “you’ve been planning for a certain ending and if you suddenly change direction just because somebody figured it out, or because they don’t like it, then it screws up the whole structure.”

    “I want to write the book I’ve always intended to write all along,” he told EW. “And when it comes out they can like it or they can not like it.”

    The author made similar remarks back in May, when addressing just how his own ending would compare to the show’s, noting that there would be both similarities and differences. Speaking with EW this week, Martin said that he initially did feel pressure to finish writing his novels a few years ago, after the show started to get ahead of the books; now that “Thrones” is done, the urgency to wrap his writing has lessened significantly.

    “I don’t only want to finish it, I want to make it as good as I possibly can,” the author explained to EW. ” … There’s no longer a race. The show is over. I’m writing the book. It will be done when it’s done.”

    We suspect this won’t be the last time Martin addresses this subject. Stay tuned to see if he comments again before “The Winds of Winter” hits shelves. (We have a feeling he will.)

    [via: Entertainment Weekly]

  • ‘Game of Thrones’ Was Originally Going to End With 3 Movies

    HBO

    “Game of Thrones” episodes have screened in movie theaters before. But according to the show’s producers, the final season of the series — set to wrap on HBO next year — was actually envisioned to be made up entirely of feature-length films.

    In a lengthy cover story in Entertainment Weekly, “Thrones” creators Dan Weiss and David Benioff reflected on their original plans for the show’s swan song. As they explained to EW, when they first pitched the show to HBO, they already knew that the series finale would be capped with an epic battle scene, even larger and more complex than season six’s Battle of the Bastards.

    As early as season three, Weiss and Benioff began to realize that the scope for this battle — which had originally been reported to have taken 55 nights to shoot, but in reality took more than twice that number — was simply impossible to film, even with the show’s already exceedingly-high $5 million per episode budget. That led the duo to come up with the idea to make season eight six hours long, and split it into three film installments to be released in theaters, reasoning that they’d need more time and more money to pull off their grand vision than series television would allow.

    HBO ultimately passed on that plan, but promised Benioff and Weiss that they would be provided with the resources to make season eight “a summer tentpole-size spectacle.” That translated into a longer than usual shoot, and each of the final season’s episodes clocking in at a cost of more than $15 million.

    The results will certainly be worth the wait, if the first photo and plot teases from the new installments are any indication. Now, we just have to wait for winter — and 2019 — to arrive.

    “Game of Thrones” season eight will premiere on HBO sometime in early 2019.

    [via: Entertainment Weekly]

  • Peter Dinklage Drops Another Hint About Tyrion’s ‘Game of Thrones’ Ending

    Peter Dinklage Drops Another Hint About Tyrion’s ‘Game of Thrones’ Ending

    HBO

    Peter Dinklage may have just dropped a major hint about how his “Game of Thrones” character, Tyrion Lannister, wraps the series. Or maybe he’s just messing with fans.

    The truth is anyone’s guess, but either way, Dinklage gave “Thrones” devotees plenty to think about during a recent interview with Vulture. The actor — who just picked up another Emmy for his role — discussed what it was like to finishing filming on the series, which will officially sign off from HBO after season eight next year, and reflected on what both the character and the experience of shooting the series meant to him.

    Dinklage explained that he appreciated that Tyrion “developed a deeper sense of responsibility” as the series went on, and said that wrapping his final day of work was “beautifully bittersweet.” As for how Tyrion himself says goodbye, the actor was scant on detail. But it was hard to miss the giant hint (or was it a giant bit of misdirection?) Dinklage offered.

    “I feel very, very — I’m trying to find the right word,” the actor said. “I think he was given a very good conclusion. No matter what that is — death can be a great way out.”

    Interviewer David Marchese noted that he didn’t believe Dinklage was actually suggesting that Tyrion dies, “but rather … attempt[ing] to leave open the possibility that the character might meet that fate.” And that certainly might be true. But Dinklage also made other comments recently suggesting that Tyrion is set for a grim end, and that’s already got some fans worried.

    Like we said before, Dinklage may just be doing his darnedest to throw viewers off track. After all, HBO and the “Thrones” creative team have been fiercely protective of spoilers throughout the show’s run, and we’d find it odd if they suddenly ignored Dinklage dropping huge hints left and right.

    It’s fair to say that fans won’t know anything for sure until the series finale credits roll. We’ll be eagerly awaiting answers until then.

    “Game of Thrones” returns for its eighth and final season sometime in the first half of 2019.

    [via: Vulture]

  • ‘Game of Thrones’ Showrunners Confirm There Are Only Two More Seasons Left

    WARNING: This post contains SPOILERS about last Sunday’s “Game of Thrones” season finale.

    While Game of Thrones” will end its run with two more abbreviated seasons, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have now definitively confirmed that will indeed be the case.

    In an interview with Deadline, Benioff and Weiss broke down the epic season six finale and discussed how it will affect the upcoming seventh season, and also explained how they are approaching their endgame for the series. According to the showrunners, as they move past author George R.R. Martin’s source material, they have a very specific road map in mind — and it’s a lot shorter than most fans would hope.

    “It’s two more seasons we’re talking about,” Benioff told Deadline, echoing comments he and Weiss made earlier this year about ending the show on a pair of shorter-than-normal seasons. “From pretty close to the beginning, we talked about doing this in 70-75 hours, and that’s what we’ll end up with. Call it 73 for now.”

    That means that there’s potentially only 13 more episodes of “Thrones” left, though according to the producers, that’s intentional, since they don’t want to overstay their welcome with viewers. But that’s not their only motivation.

    “We’re trying to tell one cohesive story with a beginning, middle and end,” Benioff explained. ” … [W]e’ve known the end for quite some time and we’re hurtling towards it.”

    He continued:

    Those last images from the show that aired [Sunday] night showed that. Daenerys is finally coming back to Westeros; Jon Snow is king of the North and Cersei is sitting on the Iron Throne. And we know the Night King is up there, waiting for all of them. The pieces are on the board now. Some of the pieces have been removed from the board and we are heading toward the end game. The thing that has excited us from the beginning, back to the way we pitched it to HBO is, it’s not supposed to be an ongoing show, where every season it’s trying to figure out new story lines. We wanted it to be one giant story, without padding it out to add an extra 10 hours, or because people are still watching it. We wanted to something where, if people watched it end to end, it would make sense as one continuous story. We’re definitely heading into the end game now.

    For more from the showrunners, read the entire Deadline interview here. Season seven of “Game of Thrones” begins production this summer, and will likely premiere on HBO sometime in 2017.

    [via: Deadline]

    Photo credit: HBO

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  • ‘Game of Thrones’ May End After Two Shorter Seasons

    Season six of “Game of Thrones” still hasn’t premiered yet, but showrunners are already mapping out the series’s end — and it may be a shorter goodbye than fans would like.

    In an interview with Variety, “Thrones” executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss said that their current vision for how the show should end entails two more seasons after the upcoming sixth, but only 13 episodes between them. Season seven would have seven episodes, they said, while season eight (the potential final season) would have six, down from the usual 10 that the show has produced each season so far.

    “I think we’re down to our final 13 episodes after this season. We’re heading into the final lap,” Benioff told the trade. “That’s the guess, though nothing is yet set in stone, but that’s what we’re looking at.”

    Variety also spoke to HBO programming president Michael Lombardo, who confirmed that he had discussed this abbreviated two-season plan with the showrunners.

    “Because where these narratives go, it feels like another two years to them,” Lombardo told Variety. “As a television executive, as a fan, do I wish they said another six years? I do.”

    But the exec left some room for fans worried about saying goodbye over such a short episode count.

    “I’m always an optimist, and I do believe we will figure this out,” Lombardo said.

    The timeframe in which to do so is shrinking, though, since season seven of “Game of Thrones” begins production in July. We hope Benioff and Weiss will have some more concrete answers for fans soon.

    In the meantime, season six of the series debuts on HBO on April 24.

    [via: Variety]

    Photo credit: Helen Sloan/HBO

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  • Emilia Clarke Wants Lots of Male Nudity in the ‘Game of Thrones’ Series Finale

    “Game of Thrones” features plenty of nudity, though it’s tended to disproportionately highlight the female anatomy throughout its run. That would change if Emilia Clarke were in charge, though, and the actress has offered up her own very NSFW idea for how the show should even things out.

    In an interview with Glamour, Clarke discussed “Thrones”‘s nudity notoriety, and commiserated with the magazine that viewers never got to see every last bit of Khal Drogo when he and Daenerys were together. Clarke admitted that she once stole a peek at actor Jacon Momoa’s member, coyly revealing, “Showing it would make people feel bad. It’s too fabulous.”

    But that doesn’t mean the actress isn’t in favor of leveling the full-frontal playing field. In fact, if Clarke were in charge of writing the theoretical “Thrones” series finale, she has a very specific vision that involves an eyeful for audiences.

    “I want to see Daenerys and her three dragons share the throne,” the actress mused. “Eat goat they’ve barbecued. And bring back all the pretty boys, get them to take their trousers down, and be like, ‘I’m now the queen of everything! I’d like close-ups of all the boys’ penises, please.’”

    We can’t say we don’t support this naughty version of events. Here’s hoping the Khaleesi gets her wish.

    “Game of Thrones” returns for its sixth season on April 24.

    [via: Glamour]

    Photo credit: Helen Sloan/HBO

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  • George R.R. Martin Says Tolkien Inspired ‘Game of Thrones’ Ending

    67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Press RoomFans of the “Game of Thrones.” According to the author, he’s taken lots of inspiration from fellow heavily-initialed author J.R.R. Tolkien, and the last two books in the series, “The Winds of Winter” and “A Dream of Spring,” will reflect that.

    But for those thinking that Gollum or a giant glowing eye are going to show up, think again. Instead, Martin revealed that he’s really looking to mimic the tone that Tolkien established in the final book in the “LOTR” series, “Return of the King.” During an alumni event at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism on Wednesday, the author expanded on that thought. Vulture reports:

    “I think you need to have some hope,” he said, referencing the manners in which sagas end. “We all yearn for happy endings in a sense. Myself, I’m attracted to the bittersweet ending. People ask me how Game of Thrones is gonna end, and I’m not gonna tell them … but I always say to expect something bittersweet in the end, like [J.R.R. Tolkien]. I think Tolkien did this brilliantly.”

    Martin went on to explain that he himself “didn’t understand that” when he read the book as a boy. Now, however, he has a different view, as reported by Vulture:

    Tolkien’s use of allegory to reveal life’s grittier truths (the tragedy of post-war Britain in the late ’40s and early ’50s, in the case of Lord of the Rings), even in the face of a well-earned victory is brilliant. You can’t just fulfill a quest and then pretend life is perfect, he said. Life doesn’t work that way.

    Those comments reflect similar statements Martin has made about the series’s end in the past, and it’s good to know that his vision hasn’t wavered since then. That also could mean he’s actually a lot closer to releasing those elusive books, the next of which may or may not be coming out sometime next year.

    Either way, audiences can expect to see some of this vision play out their television screens soon, since the show is set to overtake the events of the already-published books any time now. May we suggest (with lots of love, of course) that Martin stop talking about “ASOIAF”‘s ending so much and maybe just write it already?

    [via: Vulture]

    Photo credit: Getty Images

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  • TCA: ‘Game of Thrones’ May Get 8 Seasons and a Prequel Series

    Game of ThronesThere was lots of “Game of Thrones” scoop during HBO’s presentation Thursday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, including the revelation that there may be more “Thrones” on the way than initially expected.

    The hit fantasy series, which just wrapped its fifth season, has been renewed through a seventh season by the cable network, and it was widely considered all but a done deal that that seventh season would be the show’s last. Not so, said HBO programming president Michael Lombardo during Thursday’s panel.

    “Seven-seasons-and-out has never been the [internal] conversation,” Lombardo told critics of the show’s endgame. “The question is: how much beyond seven are we going to do? Obviously we’re shooting six now, hopefully discussing seven. [Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] feel like there’s two more years after six. I would always love for them to change their minds, but that’s what we’re looking at right now.”

    But that doesn’t mean that “Game of Thrones” would leave HBO forever after season eight. There’s always potential for a prequel series, too, the exec said, though nothing is set in stone just yet.

    “I would be open to anything that Dan and David wanted to do, about ‘Game of Thrones’ or any subject matter,” Lombardo said. ” … It really would depend fully on what they wanted to do. I think … there’s enormous storytelling to be mined in a prequel, if [author George R.R. Martin] and Dan and David decide they want to tackle that.”

    We’ll have to see what Benioff, Weiss, and Martin have up their sleeves before we cosign on a potential prequel, but we’re intrigued nonetheless.

    Season six of “Game of Thrones” is currently in production. No word yet on a premiere date.

    [via: Vanity Fair]

    Photo credit: HBO

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