Game of Thrones season 8 spoilers: When is it airing?

It appears that a decision has been made as to when Game of Thrones season 8 will air, and fans might just be a little disappointed.

Game of Thrones fans, take a deep breath. Prepare yourself for a year or more of spoilers and filming from the set. That’s because, according to Entertainment Weekly, originally Variety and ultimately from Sophie Turner, season 8 returns … in 2019.

Time for another deep breath, I’m sure. Just let it wash over you.

Now, EW makes the argument that this is all for the best, and frankly, we’re not going to disagree with that. It also works on the level that it’s still possible, however infinitesimally small that you think it is, that George R.R. Martin might actually release The Winds of Winter next year. Granted, we don’t think HBO actually took that into consideration, but, if it does happen, it’s a nice coincidence — and there’s a possibility of releasing perhaps a special, already Game of Thrones-ified version of the book to keep things hype.

But, as we said in the very beginning of this article, what that does mean is that there’s a way, way longer time for spoilers to emerge. For those who like to know what’s coming before it actually airs on HBO, that means there’s a lot more time for people to hear things from sources or take photos or do more … and more time to refine all of those theories that we’re sure you have. (We have them, too!)

Will HBO shoot for a summer release of the last season? On one level, it would mean that there’s really nothing in the way of competition for Sunday night viewers, but that’s always been the case anyway, and now with more time to hype everything up … it’s going to be bigger than ever. But, at the same time, airing in the summer also clears up room for other of HBO shows to get some oxygen in the other parts of the year.

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So, summer 2019 seems like the best guess right now for Game of Thrones season 8. Are you ready?