Game of Thrones returns April 2019, actor says

The wait for the eighth and final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones feels agonizing, but at least we have a clearer idea of when it might arrive. Actor Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark on the show, said in a recent interview with Metro that Game of Thrones will return in April 2019.

“We wrap in December and we air our first episode in April [2019],” Williams told the paper. “That’s a four-month turnaround for these huge episodes. There’s a lot that goes into the final edit. You would not want to rush this season at all. We owe it to our audience and our fans to really do this final season to the best of our abilities.”

Previously, HBO had only confirmed a 2019 release window for Game of Thrones season eight.

Williams’ timetable for filming Game of Thrones season eight appears to conflict with other unconfirmed details about the shooting schedule. Actor Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, said earlier this week that the cast was about halfway through with filming season eight, according to Variety. Filming was expected to run through summer, based on previous reports.

We’ve reached out to HBO for clarification on Williams’ comments and confirmation on season eight’s release date, but the company said it couldn’t confirm anything. If that date is accurate, it will be in line with the first six seasons of Game of Thrones, all of which debuted in either March or April. Season seven of Game of Thrones kicked off in July 2016.

Season eight of Game of Thrones will be a short six episodes long. However, each episode is expected to be run longer than an hour — 80 minutes or more.