“Game of Thrones” season 8 is set to start filming this October and one major development about the upcoming season is the apparent return of the series’ highly acclaimed director, Miguel Sapochnik. However, there is no official confirmation (yet) from HBO or the showrunners of GoT on whether Sapochnik is indeed on board for the final season.
This development was triggered by a recent Instagram post made by “Game of Thrones” cinematographer, Fabian Wagner, who uploaded an old photo of himself together with the director and other members of the team who filmed the widely praised GoT episode, “The Battle of the Bastards.”
Wagner’s caption implied that they are all going back to prepare for the production of the final season of “Game of Thrones.”
Award-winning GoT director
Avid viewers of the HBO hit fantasy drama series have reason to be excited about this news given that Miguel Sapochnik was the director behind the most unforgettable "Game of Thrones" episodes – which includes “Hardhomme,” “The Battle of the Bastards,” and “The Winds of Winter.”
The penultimate episode of “Game of Thrones” season 6, which showed the epic battle between the forces of Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton, earned Sapochnik Outstanding Directing (Drama series) honors from both the Emmy Award and the Directors Guild of America in 2016.
“Game of Thrones” went on to win Best Drama Series at the Emmys that year.
Took a break
The acclaimed director, however, did not return to shoot any episodes for season 7 of “Game of Thrones.” According to Vanity Fair, the director took a break from last season. Instead, this year’s great battles, “The Loot Train Attack” and “Beyond the Wall” was helmed by first-time GoT director Matt Shakman and veteran Alan Taylor respectively.
Epic battles to come
With the inevitable war against the Night King and the struggle for the Iron Throne all happening in the final season, epic battles are surely occurring in Westeros, and Miguel Sapochnik is a strong candidate to bring these clashes -- in spectacular fashion -- to the tv screen.
As “Game of Thrones” finally comes to its inevitable end, it is safe to assume that showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff will make sure that the last six episodes of the extremely popular fantasy series are going to be the best. If Miguel Sapochnik is indeed part of the final season, he is facing a tall order in outdoing himself.
Although “Game of Thrones” season 8 is expected to begin shooting next month, its release date is still unconfirmed. Fans may see it next year or 2019.