Aside from being one of the most exciting and controversial seasons to date, the seventh season of Game of Thrones was also more prone to leaks than any season before it. Multiple episodes were made available online before their air dates throughout the season and a group of hackers got their hands on story outlines as well. It didn’t do anything to impede the popularity of the show, but it did spoil several of the surprises. Thankfully, it looks like HBO has a plan in place to keep the series finale safe from spoilers.
Speaking at Bethlehem’s Moravian College this week, HBO programming president Casey Bloys (a native of Bethlehem) reportedly told attendees (via The Morning Call) that the team is going to shoot multiple endings for the final season in order to protect against leaks. That way, even if someone happens to see the filming or find the footage, they won’t be able to tell if what they’ve seen is the real ending or one of multiple fakes:
“I know in Game of Thrones, the ending, they’re going to shoot multiple versions so that nobody really know what happens,” said Bloys. “You have to do that on a long show. Because when you’re shooting something, people know. So they’re going to shoot multiple versions so that there’s no real definitive answer until the end.”
We still don’t know when Game of Thrones season 8 will begin airing, but sources told The Hollywood Reporter last month that production is currently scheduled to begin in October, and could run as late as August 2018. If that turns out to be the case, chance are that we won’t see the premiere until 2019.
If HBO does opt to film multiple endings for the final season of Game of Thrones, I hope we get to see them as part of some Blu-ray extra feature at some point down the line. I want to see Tyrion on the Iron Throne.
