With just six shows left to bring together and wrap up all the remaining storylines on Game of Thrones, HBO is going to need some skilled folks at the helm for each potentially movie-length episode. And fortunately, it looks they have just that. Entertainment Weekly has the scoop on which directors have been brought back, and it’s a small group of very talented individuals.
We assume there are some epic battles on deck, and who better to handle those duties than Miguel Sapochnik, who directed the intense “Hardhome” and “Battle of the Bastards” (which feature some truly amazing shots). With a track record like that, we have no doubt that the wars between humanity and the undead will look amazing. Sapochnik took a break from Game of Thrones for season six so we’re sure he’s feeling fresh and up to the task of dealing with all the snow, mud, and blood he’s used to great effect in the past.
Then there’s David Nutter, who has directed six episodes over the series’ run including “The Rains of Castamere,” which featured the Red Wedding, one of the most shocking moments in the history of the show. Nutter was away from the show for season six and seven, something fans bemoaned after some of the looser moments in recent seasons. Both Nutter and Sapochnik received Emmys for Game of Thrones episodes they directed, and for good reason.
Last but not least, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will be taking care of the series finale themselves, which seems like a fitting reward for guiding the show from its infancy into one of the biggest pop culture phenomenas of all time. While the two have been prolific writers for the show, they’ve only directed two episodes in the past: season three’s “Walk of Punishment” (where Jaime is disfigured) and the season four premiere “Two Swords.”
That’s all the directors the show announced, meaning Sapochnik and Nutter will be directing at least two episodes each, if not three if Weiss and Benioff are focusing solely on the finale. With less cooks in the kitchen, we expect there’ll be a pretty consistent overall tone to the final run of the show. And given how good past episodes from these directors have been, we expect we won’t be disappointed with the end results.
