(Helen Sloan / HBO)

What’s happening with the final season of Game of Thrones? Recently, star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau spoke with Collider about when season eight of the HBO series will start filming. 

The popular fantasy drama is currently in the midst of its seventh and second-to-last season. The cast includes Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Aidan Gillen, Kit Harington, Diana Rigg, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams.

Earlier, we reported that the scripts for season eight were finished, so when will Game of Thrones start shooting? Coster-Waldau told Collider that production is supposed to begin in October:

I knew what was going to happen for the first three seasons. After that, it’s been a season at a time. You get the scripts a month before we start shooting, or six weeks, and then you know what’s going to happen that season. But, I don’t know what’s going to happen next season. We go back in October, so maybe in the next few weeks, we’ll get the scripts and I’ll find out. I’m very curious.”

So if production begins in October, how long until the final season debuts on HBO? Collider postulates that the last season of Game of Thrones might not premiere until fall 2018, since production and post-production each take about six months.

What do you think? Are you a fan of Game of Thrones? Are you excited for the final season? What do you think will happen?