“Game of Thrones” season 7 cast members Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington, among others, are set to reap the benefits of signing “monster deals” with HBO. The actors are expected to be paid with $2.5 million for every episode of “Game of Thrones” season 7 and 8.
According to recent reports, Clarke and Harington will be joined by Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as the “Game of Thrones” season 7 actors with the most important roles. As such, they will be paid based on the agreements stated on the “golden contract.”
“They have each signed monster new deals that can earn each of them up to a £2 million ($2.5 million) per episode when the fantasy drama returns to UK screens on July 17,” news outlet Express noted. “They contain complex bonus clauses based on shared percentages of syndication payments received from more than 170 countries in which the series is broadcast.”
It was further explained that these stars of “Game of Thrones” season 7 will also rake in earnings from the repeated airing of the hit series. While the fantasy drama had 2.5 million viewers for every episode in its first season, there has been a significant increase to 7.69 million viewers for “Game of Thrones” season 6 episodes. Additional streaming and repeated airing of “Game of Thrones” season 6 further led to a total of 23 million viewers per episode in the US, a boost of up to 15% from last year’s numbers.
The estimated budget for the upcoming “Game of Thrones” season 7 episodes and their special scenes are also expected to go higher. The past seasons’ exceptional scenes, such as the Battle of the Blackwater and the Battle of the Bastards, required the series to allocate large funds.
For the “Game of Thrones” season 7 storylines, fans are expecting that Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen are set to cross each other’s paths and rule the seven kingdoms together. However, Harington is not keen on revealing the possibilities in these theories. During a recent interview, he said his character did not care much about royal titles and has “very little ego on him”; therefore, he has also decided to stop caring either.
“I think you have to wait and see what happens this year, and if we find out anything more about Jon. I think Jon would hate the term ‘The Prince That Was Promised.’ If someone turned to him and said, ‘You’re The Prince That Was Promised,’ he just wouldn’t pay much attention,” Harington said, as noted by Huffington Post.
"Game of Thrones” season 7 is set to have seven episodes and will welcome new cast members, such as Jim Broadbent and Tom Hopper. Meanwhile, longtime cast members such as Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Alfie Allen, Iain Glen, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Liam Cunningham, John Bradley and Hannah Murray, among others, are all set to reprise their roles.
The Hound, played by Rory McCann, will make a comeback after fans watched his character get left behind by Arya Stark as he suffered severe conditions. Controversial characters Varys (Conleth Hill) and Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) will also have key parts in “Game of Thrones” season 7, whereas wildling Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) will keep up with a funny yet romantic story with Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie).
The “Game of Thrones” season 7 premiere has been set on July 16, 2017 and is expected to end on Aug. 27, 2017 on HBO.
