'Game Of Thrones' Officially Not Returning Until 2019, Why HBO Is Postponing Series

After much speculation, it's become official. HBO's juggernaut series "Game of Thrones" will air its eighth and final season in 2019.

The official HBO PR account tweeted the news Jan. 4, confirming what has long been believed to be the delayed return of the show.

The tweet confirms that, despite Season 7 ending in August 2017, the final six episodes of the show are not going to be on the network until at least a year and a half later. No specific date has been announced in regards to when in 2019 the series would air.

This isn't the first time it's been believed the show would be delayed until 2019, as several of the show's stars previously said they didn't think it would be back in 2018, citing the later production times that delayed Season 7, as well as the scope of what was happening on the show.

Sophie Turner was the most recent actor to state the show was coming back in 2019, telling Variety that about her busy schedule between the hit series and her role in the "X-Men" movies. Prior to her stating it, Iain Glen also revealed that it was unlikely the show would be back in 2018.

According to the actor behind Ser Jorah Mormont, the fact that the actors on the show were all starting to film in scenes together, instead of apart and in different countries, was why production would take longer, hence the delay.

"We're all starting to occupy the same territory, we're all starting to be in the same storylines and so they can't [have two filming units] anymore," he said at the time. "I think that this last season will take much longer to shoot because they can only use one unit because we're all in the same sort of scenes."

Having to wait until 2019 does mean fans will also have to wait much longer to see if some of the rumored spoilers about how the show ends, and who winds up on the Iron Throne in the end, wind up being true.