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​'Game Of Thrones' Won't Be Returning Until 2019, Admits Sophie Turner

​'Game Of Thrones' Won't Be Returning Until 2019, Admits Sophie Turner

The 21-year-old GoT star said the final season 'comes out in 2019', but also admitted she's ready for it to be over

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

FFS. We knew we'd have to wait a fair while for the next - and last - installment of HBO fantasy drama Game of Thrones, but we'd all been hoping it would at least be within our sights.

However, according to Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark, season eight won't be hitting screens until 2019. That's not next year, for anyone keeping count, but the year after - as in, so, so far away.

In an interview with Variety, the 21-year-old actress was asked about her busy 2018 - with GoT in progress and the November release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix on the horizon.

"I'm really excited," she said. "Game of Thrones comes out in 2019. Dark Phoenix is in November. Then I have a couple indie movies coming out. I'm a producer on my next movie [Girl Who Fell From the Sky]. So I'm really excited about the future."

Credit: Game of Thrones / HBO

The announcement comes just months after Casey Bloys, HBO Head of Programming, first dropped a few hints that the final episodes could arrive as late as 2019.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Bloys said: "By the time the final season airs, [showrunners] Dan and David will have been at this for 12 years. Which is an amazing fact.

"They did go and do movies in between seasons, they didn't set anything else up, they put everything - and are putting everything - into this show.

"They came into HBO with an idea for a show with a beginning, middle and end, and they want to see it through."

The interviewer then asked: "So, as of now, the final season could air in 2018 and/or in 2019 depending on their needs?"

Bloys responded: "Yeah. They have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule. We'll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing."

Sophie Turner
Sophie Turner

Credit: PA

But having worked on the show since its first season, Sophie says she feels it's time to wrap up the GoT chapter in her life.

"I feel this sense that everything is over Game of Thrones-wise," she said.

"I have nothing to lose right now, because I don't have Game of Thrones anymore. I'm kind of born again, because I'm at a different stage of my career now - not necessarily at a higher level, I just find myself at a different version of my career. So I'm going to try my hand at everything."

HBO have declined to comment on an official return date for Game of Thrones, but we're guessing their silence shouldn't be taken as any reason to believe it'll be returning any sooner. Best not build ourselves up for yet more disappointment, eh, LADs?

In the meantime, let's just hope that with all this time the creators are taking, they're able to make the last season a bloody good one. Pressure's on.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Sansa Stark, Entertainment, TV and Film, UK Entertainment, Sophie Turner, US Entertainment, Netflix, TV, Game of Thrones