HBO Wants More Than Seven Seasons of 'Game of Thrones', but Not a Movie
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HBO programming president Michael Lombardo says he would love the show to go 10 years, but will respect the showrunners' decision if they won't continue the show beyond seven seasons.

AceShowbiz - "Game of Thrones" could last until a tenth season, if the decision is solely in the hands of HBO. Michael Lombardo, programming president of the cable channel, says he wants more than seven seasons that have been discussed so far.

"Would I love the show to go 10 years as both a fan and a network executive? Absolutely," Lombardo tells EW.com. He admits that he hasn't talked about the possibility with showrunners with David Benioff and Dan Weiss, who previously stated that the show might wrap up after "seven or eight" seasons.

"We'll have an honest conversation that explores all possible avenues," Lombardo says, adding, "If they weren't comfortable going beyond seven seasons, I trust them implicitly and trust that's the right decision-as horrifying as that is to me. What I'm not going to do is have a show continue past where the creators believe where they feel they've finished with the story."

Benioff, meanwhile, shares, "We know basically how many hours are left in this story. We don't want to add 10 hours to that. It's about finding that sweet spot so it works for us and for HBO and, most of all, it works for the audience."

There have also been talks about a "Game of Thrones" movie which is supported by the book author George R.R. Martin, but HBO is not into the idea. He thinks that a "Thrones" film would betray fans who have been tuning into the TV series.

"Certainly there have been conversations where it's been said, 'Wouldn't it be cool to do that?' But when you start a series with our subscribers, the promise is that for your HBO fee that we're going to take you to the end of this. I feel that on some level [a movie would be] changing the rules: Now you have to pay $16 to see how your show ends," Lombardo explains.

A spin-off is another alternative to extend the hit drama series, but there haven't been any specific conversations about it. There's also a possibility that the seventh and final season is split into two parts, like what AMC did with "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men".

"Game of Thrones" season 5 will premiere Sunday, April 12 at 9 P.M. ET on HBO, and will debut simultaneously in more than 170 countries.

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