If last night’s news of Game of Thrones potentially ending its final two seasons over just 13 episodes weren’t a sobering enough reminder of the series’ longevity, talk naturally turns to the possibility for spinoff, or even other series set among the world of Westeros. Sadly, HBO casts all your spinoff dreams into the fire, barring any real desire from showrunners.

Granted both David Benioff and Dan Weiss (as well as HBO) remain committed to ending Game of Thrones on proper terms above formulating any spinoff ideas, network head Michael Lombardo tells Entertainment Weekly that offshoots of the series are unlikely, at least for now:

No, if that were to happen it would have to come from [Benioff and Weiss] really feeling something, or [author George R.R. Martin] really feeling that it was the right thing to do. Not knowing how this particular story ends, I don’t know. There are plenty of characters, secondary characters, [that] you could build a world around. We’re always going to be drawn to a strong creative vision. But we are not going to do that unless we feel their passion.

EW also pointed to past comments from the showrunning duo that characters like Bronn or Sam and Gilly could easily shoulder their own comedic adventures, though again, landing Seasons 7 and 8 remains a priority to the pair. Says Weiss:

No, we don’t talk about that stuff. The job at hand is too enormous and challenging to be further diffusing ourselves by thinking about spin-offs, and theme park rides, and ice ballets … but if anybody has a good pitch for a good Game of Thrones ice ballet, let us know.

In fact, Game of Thrones spinoffs have actually been thrown around before, potentially adapting George R.R. Martin’s own Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas as an interim for Game of Thrones shooting its final seasons, though the idea appears to have been scuttled.

Season 6 will premiere on April 24, but might Game of Thrones fans have only 13 episodes to look forward to thereafter? Should HBO attempt any kind of extension to the franchise?

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