HBO finally responds to Game of Thrones season 8 reshoot petition

The petition, signed by 1.3 million people, criticised the writers Weiss and Benioff and referred to them as “woefully incompetent writers when they have no source material." The show went beyond the published events of George RR Martin's books at the beginning of season five.

• Game of Thrones series finale - as it happened
• Game of Thrones showrunners confirmed to direct next Star Wars film after The Rise of Skywalker
• Listen to the RadioTimes.com Podcast now: subscribe on iTunes / subscribe on Google Podcasts

"This series deserves a final season that makes sense," the petition stated.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, HBO president Casey Bloys said that reshoots were "not something we seriously considered".

"There are very, very few downsides to having a hugely popular show. But one I can think of is when you try to end it, many people have big opinions on how these characters’ stories should come to an end."

"Thirty-two Emmy nominations is certainly nice validation," he added, referring to the Emmy Awards 2019 nominations.

Various cast members have previously weighed in on the petition, including Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), who branded it "disrespectful".

"People always have an idea in their heads of how they want a show to finish, and so when it doesn’t go to their liking, they start to speak up about it and rebel,” Turner said an interview with The New York Times.

Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are streaming on NOW TV