The US television channel HBO confirmed Thursday that fans of the Game of Thrones series will have to wait until 2019 to find out the outcome of the fantasy saga adapted from the novels of George Martin.
However no precise date for the airing of the eighth and final season has been unveiled.
With the seventh season aired from mid-July 2017, this announcement has been favorably received. The specialized press sees in particular the possibility of having last episodes of better quality.
"With the season 7 running for the Emmy Awards in 2018 due to its late release last summer, HBO can focus on promoting Game of Thrones rather than launching a new season." James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly magazine commented.
The authors of the TV adaptation, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss said in 2016 that the series would end after eight seasons, and that Season 7 would have only seven episodes, and Season 8 only six.
Information had begun to filter in the summer on the fact that Game of Thrones would not return to the screens before 2019. Sophie Turner, who plays the heroine Sansa Stark, had revealed that she did not expect a return of the series this year.
