Earlier this year, the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones was rumored to have feature length episodes set for the remaining six installments of the series. While HBO has yet to confirm those extended episodes, the early word is that next season’s budget will dramatically increase.
Variety is reporting HBO has set a $15 million per episode budget for Game of Thrones season eight. That’s up from $10 million per episode in season seven, which was already three episodes shorter than the previous six seasons received. At the very beginning of its run, it was estimated that each episode of Game of Thrones cost $6 million.
During the first season of the show, the series went out of its way to avoid showing large scale battle sequences on screen. In the second season, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss had to request an additional $2 million to pull off the Battle of Blackwater. That episode set the tone for almost every subsequent battle shown in the series.
While the eighth season is heading into the series’ endgame, we at least have some idea about what the increased budget will be spent on. The army of the dead has finally arrived in Westeros, and it appears that the forces of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen will confront their mutual enemy in at least a few epic clashes. Plus, we’re hoping to see the show’s first ever dragon fight, since Viserion is now undead and under the control of the Night King.
Game of Thrones‘ final season will begin filming next month, but it doesn’t currently have an announced release date. We’re just hoping that it comes before 2019.
Are you excited Game of Thrones season eight may be the equivalent of six feature films? Let us know in the comment section.
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