Speaking at the TCA Summer Tour, HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo suggested that there could be eight seasons of Game of Thrones, and that a prequel was possible.

Denying that the plan was ever just to go for seven seasons, Lombardo noted that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss “are feeling there’s probably two more years after Season 6, that’s what we’re looking at right now. We hope that they would change their mind, but that’s how they are feeling now.” If they want to do a prequel or other side series, HBO is “open to anything”.

Lombardo also addressed the controversy over the death of a major character at the end of series 5. “Dead is dead as dead as dead. He be dead. Yes. From everything I’ve seen, heard, read, [he] is indeed dead.”