“Game of Thrones” is literally filming multiple endings to keep spoilers from getting out
HBO is doubling, no tripling, down on its efforts to keep us guessing about who’ll end up on the Iron Throne and in doing so, they’re going for the ultimate Game of Thrones fake-out.
Casey Bloys, president of programming for HBO, revealed during a visit to Moravian College in his hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that Game of Thrones will shoot multiple endings to keep everyone — including the cast — in the dark.
“I know in Game of Thrones, the ending, they’re going to shoot multiple versions so that nobody really knows what happens, Bloys said, according to local Bethlehem newspaper, The Morning Call. “You have to do that on a long show. Because when you’re shooting something, people know. So they’re going to shoot multiple versions so that there’s no real definitive answer until the end.
It seems HBO is working up a plan so complex, even the late Lord Baelish wouldn’t figure it out.
While Game of Thrones is far from the first series to film multiple endings, it certainly makes sense considering paparazzi interest and the series’ own problems with leaks. Earlier this summer, HBO experienced a massive data breach in which 1.5 terabytes worth of documents — including emails, scripts, and personal information — and full unaired episodes of original programming were stolen.
But the final season won’t be the first time Game of Thrones has filmed fake scenes to prevent spoilers from getting out.
Before the Season 7 premiere, Kit Harington (aka Jon Snow) revealed to Jimmy Kimmel that a series of fake scenes were shot to throw off the paparazzi surrounding the set and ensure fans were still surprised when the season aired. Being Game of Thrones, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss pulled out all the stops, as Harington added that the fake scenes took about five hours to film — each.
Knowing how spoiler guarded the Game of Thrones cast and crew are, we have a feeling that we’re going to be left guessing right until the final seconds of the series.
Here’s hoping the alternative endings will be released some day. The six-episode final season of Game of Thrones is expected to air sometime late 2018 or early 2019 on HBO.