"Game of Thrones" season 6 has just premiered and it already spells the beginning of the end for the series. As previously reported, the showrunners are considering making the last two seasons shorter than previous ones and now they have spoken up about ending the series and how this will be accomplished.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff confirmed that the end is drawing near, with only a season or two left for the critically acclaimed series.
"We're approaching the finish line. From the outset, our hope was to tell a complete story -- beginning, middle and end. We are writing the final act now, and the last thing we want to do is stay on stage after the play is over," they explained.
It was also explained that they already knew they were likely to outpace the source materials, the "Song of Ice and Fire" novels by George R.R. Martin, as far back as 2013, when they met with him in Sante Fe, New Mexico. It is speculated that at this time Martin relayed how the rest of the story continues and how the saga finally ends.
According to the showrunners, the main goal is to reach somewhere between 70 and 75 episodes in total, which is why they are aiming for seven main seasons. However, the last two seasons, seasons 7 and 8, will be much shorter and many fans are already considering these as one season simply split into two halves.
They did explain that there is an upside to the fact that season 6 has been released prior to the release of book 6 in the novels. According to the showrunners, this ensures book fans cannot spoil the events to those only watching the series. Because the show diverged from the story in the novels, it is also guaranteed that the books won't be spoiled when fans watch season 6 and beyond.
