‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8 Directors Revealed: ‘Battle of the Bastards’ Helmer Miguel Sapochnik Returning
Zack Sharf
Let the final game begin. HBO has confirmed the final batch of directors set for “Game of Thrones” Season 8, and they include creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss and two gentlemen responsible for some of the most epic hours in the show’s history: Miguel Sapochnik and David Nutter. Benioff and Weiss will be behind the camera for the series finale, while Sapochnik and Nutter will split the remaining five episodes. Rumor has it Sapochnik could be directing three, with Nutter taking two. Season 8 will be the fourth season in a row not to feature a female director.
Sapochnik’s return to the series should delight fans. The director won an Emmy and a DGA Award for “Battle of the Bastards,” often cited as one of the best hours of “Game of Thrones” ever. He was also responsible for another classic episode, the Season 6 finale “The Winds of Winter,” plus two Season 5 episodes: “The Gift” and the battle-centric “Hardhome.” The final season of “Game of Thrones” has some epic battles in store given the White Walkers have broken through the Wall, so it makes sense HBO would want Sapochnik back to give the final run his trademark epic scope.
Nutter, meanwhile, has been with the series since Season 2 and has also won an Emmy for Outstanding Direction for his work on the series. His most famous episode is without question “The Rains of Castamere,” which featured the iconic Red Wedding sequence. Nutter was last behind the camera for the Season 5 finale, “Mother’s Mercy,” which included Cerise’s walk of atonement.
The news of Sapochnik and Nutter’s involvement with the final season of “Game of Thrones” should delight fans given they have both been responsible for some of the series’ most defining moments. The six-episode final season begins production this October and won’t premiere on HBO until 2018 or early 2019.
