Game Of Thrones Stars Sign On For Season 8 With Big Pay Rises, Doesn't Mean They'll Survive
Rich as a Lannister.
When it comes to Game of Thrones, everything is considered a spoiler, from casting announcements to actors cutting their hair. Now, it seems, that also includes signing new contracts.
Deadline are reporting that the five major stars of the series, Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) have all received a bumper pay rise ahead of Season 7 of the show, with an option for that deal to be continued into a potentially final Season 8.
The last time the stars renegotiated their contracts it was reported they'd be earning $300,000 per episode, and now that's set to rise to upwards of $500,000. It's not quite Friends, but still pretty astronomical figures. The Iron Bank must be feeling rather generous at the minute,
Of course, the fact that the stars are signed up for Season 7, with an option for Season 8, doesn't mean they'll necessarily survive. HBO and showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss are still deciding on the make-up of the final seasons, with the expectation that both 7 and 8 will have fewer than the usual 10 episodes. Furthermore, they haven't written those last episodes yet, so won't know who'll make it or not.
Tyrion, Daenerys, and Jon, ostensibly the three main characters throughout, have always seemed pretty safe bets to make it to the end, but the futures of Jaime and Cersei are less of a sure thing. Who knows, the contracts could even be misdirection ahead of the Season 6 finale, though it's unlikely any of them would die there anyway.
As for the other cast members, it's believed that the likes of Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams (Sansa and Arya Stark respectively) are still negotiating their contracts.
Do you think all of these characters will make it through to Season 8? Let us know in the comments.