Earlier this month, HBO broke our hearts when it confirmed, once and for all, that Game of Thrones wouldn’t be back for its final season until 2019. All of the evidence was pointing in that direction anyway, but a press release from HBO put the debate to rest. But then, of course, everyone wanted to know when exactly season 8 would debut.
We likely won’t know the answer to that question until later in the year, but in an interview with Metro this week, Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) might have let the date slip a bit earlier than she should have.
“We wrap in December and we air our first episode in April [2019],” said Williams. “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.”
HBO has yet to set a concrete date (and presumably can’t until production has wrapped and editing has begun), but April would certainly make sense considering the current production timeline. In 2017, HBO went all out with a buggy live stream stunt on Facebook to unveil the premiere date of the seventh season. Considering that this will be the show’s last, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the network one-up itself for season 8.
As for what Williams wants out of the final season for Arya: “I’ve always said I wanted her to find peace. The things that have been driving her through her story have been very bitter and twisted and aggressive. I would love for Arya to find her true self again and let go of this anger and revenge that’s accompanied her on this journey. I’d love for her to be happy.” Happiness is hard to come by in Westeros, but perhaps Arya will find it next year.
