Excited for the final season of Game of Thrones? Well now you can get a taste of the pain felt by fans of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire book series on which it is based -- you're gonna have to wait! Though we know that there would be a delay between the seventh and eighth seasons, this past summer at the TCA press tour, HBO President Casey Bloys said "It’s a big season. They’re trying to get a sense of how long it’s going to take them to shoot this.” What that boiled down to, at the time, was a 2018 or even 2019 premiere date.

In an interview with Variety about Game of Thrones as well as X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Sophie Turner revealed that,

Yeah, I’m really excited. “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.

So, it doesn't feel like just a guess, since Turner has a lot of things linked up in her  schedule, and HBO also hasn't released anything to deny it -- although they also haven't confirmed it. 2018 would still be a long wait for fans, but 2019 feels a little crazy. At this point though, I suppose Game of Thrones isn't going to suffer from a lack of momentum between seasons.

As for the timing, we still don't know of course when in 2019 the show could return. Traditionally it has aired in the springtime, but it did shift into summer this past year. Anything is possible! Let us know what you think in the comments (and where you think Sansa's story will go next), and we'll be bringing you more Game of Thrones tidbits as we have 'em.