The end of Game of Thrones is nigh (sob!), with two upcoming shorter seasons set to bring the much loved fantasy series to a close, much to the chagrin of the diehard fanbase. Now, HBO has given fans some hope that the show will continue, in some form or another.
HBO's president of original programming, Casey Bloys, revealed that the network is currently exploring spin-off options from author George R.R. Martin's source material.
Speaking at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour, Bloys said: "All I can say is that we're exploring it. We don't have any scripts, we're not even close to saying 'Oh, let's do this.'
"But it's a big enough property that we would be foolish not to explore it. It's a really rich world. We'd be foolish not to look at it."
There has previously been rumours of a possible GOT prequel, but showrunner David Benioff said he didn't think it was a good idea.
He said: "At a certain point, especially if it's a serialised story, it falls apart and loses its heat and its momentum because there's a carrying capacity even a world the size of ours has.
"When you reach that carrying capacity and you try to push it further, people start to wonder when this is going to be over and hope that it will be over soon so they can move onto the next thing. That's not what we ever wanted."
The seventh season of Thrones is due to air later this year with seven episodes, while the final season is due to start shooting in September.
So far, it is unknown how many episodes the last season will run for, with Bloys telling Entertainment Weekly: "They're still figuring out the shape of the season, what they want to do. I'll take as many as they want to do.
"If they give me eight, I'll want 10. But it's really up to them. They'll let me know."
