The Game of Thrones TV Show May Have Permanently Killed off This Character

This post contains major Game of Thrones plot spoilers

HBO's Game of Thrones series will span at least another two seasons, according to new comments from president of programming Michael Lombardo at a Television Critics Association event on Friday.

Meanwhile, executives in charge of the show appear to have confirmed the death of a key character [these comments, which are a major spoiler, can be found further down].

Previous reports suggested that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss had planned seven seasons for Game of Thrones, but Lombardo said, "Seven seasons and out was never the conversation."

Instead, Lombardo said "the question is how much beyond [seven seasons] it will go," according to a report from Deadline, which attended the event.

"David and Dan are feeling there's probably two more years after Season 6, that's what we're looking at right now," he added. "We hope that they would change their mind, but that's how they are feeling now."

Asked if HBO would consider a Game of Thrones spinoff series, potentially a prequel, Lombardo said he is open to anything Benioff and Weiss want to do. "There is enormous amount of storytelling in that world," Lombardo said, cautioning that right now, however, "the focus is on figuring out the next few years of the show."

Also during his talk today, Lombardo addressed the ongoing speculation regarding the fate of Kit Harrington's character Jon Snow, who appears to have died at the end of season five.

"Dead is dead as dead as dead," Lombardo said. "He be dead. Yes. From everything I've seen, heard, read, Jon Snow is indeed dead."

A premiere date for the sixth season of Game of Thrones has not been announced.

The most recent entry in developer Telltale Games' Game of Thrones series was A Nest of Vipers, which GameSpot scored a 9/10. The sixth and final entry in the series first season is currently in development, though a release date has not been announced.