Its featured Red Weddings, literal head-crushings, WTF lead-character murders, death by dragonfire and molten gold force-feedings, major plot twists, and epic battles involving gargantuan woolly mammoths and bow-and-arrow-wielding ice giants. As legions of Game of Thrones fans can attest, HBOs fantasy series has never skimped on spectacle, big set pieces or creative ways of detailing what happens when you cross the wrong politically ambitious person in Westeros and beyond. And though anyone whos read George R.R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire novels knows that theres much more is in store for the Starks, the Lannisters, Jon Snow and the Mother of Dragons, its tough to imagine that anything could top the last four seasons. Winter is coming but after matrimonial massacres and cast-of-thousands sieges, where is there left for the hit show to go?
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Ask showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss that question, however, and theyll tell you that things are just getting warmed up according to the pair, the upcoming fifth season is going to be the most epic to date. Were starting to build to a crescendo now, Benioff says. Two of the set pieces we shot this year have been the biggest ones to date. And on a story levelexpect a snowball effect. As they prepare for the shows return on April 12th, the writer/producers weighed in on what to expect, the spoiler issue, and why the end may be in sight.
What can we expect from this season?
Benioff: For four seasons, youve had all these characters whove been separated by geography from Daenerys and her band of warriors roaming around to everyone in Westeros. Now, these storylines are starting to merge. Its going to be a big East-meets-West season.
Weiss: Itll be easier to keep things straight for the viewers and for us.
This is one of the advantages of having a show with a high mortality rate: the potential for things to get streamlined eventually.
Benioff: It certainly does keep things fresh. [Laughs] Most of the actors have read the books
Weiss: or have looked up stuff online to see whats going to happen to their characters, so its never really a surprise.
Benioff: I mean, Sean Bean was number one on the call sheet and he got his head chopped off. So its hard for anybody on the show to think that they would not also be in danger of getting their head chopped off.
That must have been an awkward conversation.
Benioff: Sean knew that going in, so no surprise there.
Weiss: The one-year contract was a big tip-off. You guys sure you dont need options here? No, no, were good, thanks. [Both laugh]
Do you feel a sense of pressure coming out of the last two seasons, where you have to find a way to top things like the Red Wedding?
Benioff: Absolutely. But there is an overarching story, and we are past the midpoint now; its getting closer to the end, ultimately. We are starting to build to a cresecendo, which means the battles have to get bigger and things have to get more dramatic. Something like the Red Weddingyoud been with these characters for nearly three seasons, so of course something like that is going to have a big effect on people. But when you think about characters like Arya or Tyrion, who youve spent so much time with, whenever theyre in jeopardy, it should feel like a big deal.
And just from a production level, its definitely gotten bigger this year. Two of the set pieces weve just shot are the biggest things weve ever done, in terms of shooting days and number of effects shots. And on a story level...expect a snowball effect. So its less a pressure to top ourselves than to do this story justice.
Is the endgame still seven seasons and thats it?
Benioff: Weve always said that, but we have to talk to HBO and come to an understanding. Theres a temptation to keep going with it because were still having fun, but you dont want to ruin it by tacking on a couple of extra years.
Weiss: The big thing is, this is a show with a beginning, a middle and an end. We know what the end is, and were heading toward it now.
Benioff: Were not sure whether its going to end up being, say, 70 or 75 hours but it cant be 100 hours. It would start to feel like a bogged-down mess.
When you guys spoke at Oxford recently, you mentioned that the show would soon be getting to major storylines before George R.R. Martins novels do the headlines then read Game of Thrones to Spoil Books!
Weiss: I wouldnt trust anything we said at that event. We were pretty drunk. [Both laugh]
Benioff: Theres such a double meaning to the word spoil there. Im not sure its possible to spoil Georges books. As the show progresses, it becomes its own thing in some ways...just because something happens on TV doesnt mean it will happen in the novels. To be a spoiler, there has to be certainty. And George could very well change his mind as he writes these books.
How is his relationship with the show these days? You could argue that, while his books are insanely popular, most people know what Game of Thrones is and then draw a blank when you A Song of Ice and Fire.
Benioff: He seemed really happy when we saw him at the premiere for the new season the other night. George is a great guy about all of this. Its a strange thing, but we are working at a certain pace because we have to.
Weiss: It cant go on for 13 years. We need these actors while they can still play the characters.
Benioff: You cant have a 32-year-old Arya Stark. [Both laugh]
Theres still a long way to go with the show, but in terms of what you guys want to do after this is over one would guess it would be something that has absolutely nothing to do with hard-to-choreograph battle scenes and CGI dragons, right?
Benioff: It will be nothing but two guys sitting in a room, drinking beer and cracking jokes.
Weiss: It will not involve horses. [Both laugh]
Benioff: Theres a project about escaped convicts in Oklahoma [Dirty White Boys, based on Stephen Hunters 1995 novel] that were developing and it doesnt involve a single sword fight!
Weiss: Even if its a fake sword fight, you have to know what youre doing. This next project just involves guns. Pretty much anyone can pull a trigger, so it will be easier by default.