Game of Thrones has unveiled its list of directors for season eight – and showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss will helm the drama’s final ever episode.
What does that tell us? Not too much about what kind of ending to expect – the two have only directed two episodes before: the fairly forgettable season four opener Two Swords and season three’s emotional Walk of Punishment episode.
But the big Ds will be continuing a tradition of showrunners directing the final episode of their show, with Vince Gilligan directing the finale of Breaking Bad, the same with Matthew Weiner for Mad Men and David Chase for The Sopranos.
Although the two will be directing together, only one will get the directing credit – the director’s guild rules permit only one director can be credited for an episode of television. It’s unclear yet if they’ll use a pseudonym or not.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miguel Sapochnik and David Nutter will both have a turn in a director’s chair in the upcoming season. Sapochnik’s hiring should be particularly good news for fans as the director has helmed the show’s most action-packed episodes, including Hardhome and Battle of the Bastards.
David Nutter has headed some of the show’s most iconic moments, including season three’s The Rains of Castamere (the one with the devastating Red Wedding). But he’s also been entrusted to direct huge action sequences – Nutter was due to direct the epic Lannister versus Dragon battle in last season’s The Spoils of War, but was forced to pull out due to a back injury. So, Nutter combined with Sapochnik signifies that the last season could more epic than the Night King blasting away a wall of ice with a zombie dragon.
