AS the penultimate season of “Game of Thrones” comes to a close, fans are already looking ahead at the epic series’ true conclusion. But we still don’t know exactly when to expect the eighth and final season.

HBO’s programing president, Casey Bloys, said the screening time could be in 2018 or in 2019 depending on the showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ writing and production schedule, according to an Entertainment Weekly report.

“For its first six seasons, “Game of Thrones” consistently aired in the spring of each year. 2017 was the first year the show returned during the summer instead. This was due to production being pushed back to accommodate the “winter” needs for outdoor filming,” said Bloys.

“While we don’t know for certain, it’s safe to assume filming will once again be timed with the winter months. As of Aug. 20, Watchers on the Wall reported that preproduction for ‘Game of Thrones’ was starting in Northern Ireland.”

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime Lannister, also said in an interview that he thought filming for season eight would start in October of this year.

The silver lining is that the final season is sure to be epic. “Game of Thrones” sound designer Paula Fairfield broke important news at the first annual Con of Thrones. According to Fairfield, the final season may consist of six movie-length episodes.

The season-seven finale, “The Dragon and the Wolf,” was 79 minutes, 43 seconds (HBO specified the exact length in a press release). The idea of having six finale-worthy episodes is exciting, but we should all be prepared for a long wait ahead.

Night gathers, and now our watch begins.

(SD-Agencies)