Now that HBO has locked down a premiere date for Game of Thrones season 6 – April 24, mark the calendar – there’s no chance that George R.R. Martin’s long-gestating Winds of Winter will hit store shelves in time to resolve any lingering questions. Even still, that hasn’t quelled the network’s ambition for the adorned fantasy series, and Deadline brings word that HBO is already hosting talks to secure both seasons 7 and 8 before the show returns in a few months’ time.
Such a report aligns with what Series Creators and Executive Producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss have stated in the past, teasing that they believe GoT has two more seasons left in the tank beyond season 6, though President Michael Lombardo and other HBO brass will no doubt try to sway that decision closer to the time.
“David and Dan are feeling there’s probably two more years after Season 6, that’s what we’re looking at right now,” Lombardo said back in July. “We hope that they would change their mind, but that’s how they are feeling now.”
Without doubt, thanks to its sprawling story and wonderful (not to mention delightfully evil) characters, Game of Thrones has cemented its place in the modern TV pantheon, so a multi-year deal to renew HBO’s fantasy flagship through 2018 is certainly not out of the question. Hopefully by that stage Winds of Winter will be out in the wild, otherwise Benioff, Weiss and the remainder of the creative team may be venturing into largely uncharted territory.
Game of Thrones season 6 roars to life on April 24, 2016.
