The end of Game of Thrones is (almost) nigh, but before the cast gets wistful, they’re going to get paid. According to Deadline, the five principal cast members — that’d be Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau — are working out their deals for the upcoming seventh and potential eighth season of the show, and HBO is looking at some majorly hiked price tags. The actors will reportedly make $500,000 an episode for season seven and, if it is picked up as expected, the same for a final season eight. That’s up from their reported season-six intake of $300,00 an episode. Deadline does, however, warn that the new deal doesn’t ensure that the characters those actors portray will actually be alive enough for the actors to collect through the end of the bloodthirsty show, as Game of Thrones’ final episodes are as-yet unwritten. The report also notes that Game of Thrones’ final two seasons will likely be shorter than the preceding six, with a possible seven episodes for season seven and six for season eight. Game of Thrones: Pass go, and collect $500,000.
