Actor Charles Dance has suggested that HBO’s epic fantasy series may end with a Game of Thrones movie.
Rumors of a Game of Thrones movie have been batted about for years, but the actor behind the terrifying Tywin Lannister has implied that the rumors may be solidifying into a real possibility.
“There’s talk of eventually trying to do a feature film,” Dance revealed in a recent interview.
Given the famous complexity of the series, however, the actor qualified that he doesn’t know which storylines would make it into an eventual feature. “There’s so much to cram into a film,” Dance said.
The idea of a Game of Thrones film has also been favored by George R.R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series from which the TV show is adapted. According to Martin, the length of the HBO series may determine the fate of an eventual film.
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“It all depends on how long the main series runs,” Martin remarked in March. “Do we run for seven years? Do we run for eight? Do we run for 10?” As the scope of A Song of Ice and Fire grows, the author admitted, “It might need a feature to tie things up, something with a feature budget, like $100 million for two hours.
“Those dragons get real big, you know,” he joked.
Though Game of Thrones has only been renewed through season 6, the cast recently signed extended contracts with HBO. In addition to significant pay raises, the new deals would secure the actors for a potential seventh season — which, at this point, seems all but assured.
Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have repeatedly stated that they envision the series being told over seven seasons. Taking Dance’s words into account, it’s beginning to seem increasingly likely that Game of Thrones will in fact be seven seasons — “and a movie.”
HBO’s Game of Thrones season 5 will air in Spring 2015.