With the
announcement of the spring 2019 launch of Season 8 of “Game of Thrones,” one
thing is now certain: Winter is here.
The eighth
and final season of the megahit HBO series is fast approaching, and although
the premium cabler has taken CIA-level precautions on preventing spoilers from
leaking, some details are beginning to take shape.
Here’s what
we know so far about the epic fantasy series’ last season.
A Few More
Months
“Game of
Thrones” may have wrapped Season 7 last year, but fans will have to wait just a
little bit longer for the hit fantasy series’ eighth and final season. HBO
revealed in a promotional video on Tuesday that the new installment will arrive
in April 2019, with no specific date offered.
Less is More
Standing at
six episodes, the new installment will definitely be shorter than past seasons,
which have usually capped at 10 episodes. But fewer episodes means each may be
longer.
“When you
think about it, up until last season we’d have six months to do ten episodes,”
said Liam Cunningham, who plays Ser Davos. “So we’re [doing] way more than that
for six episodes. So that obviously will translate into longer episodes.”
That could
extend to even feature-length episodes at 80 minutes or even longer. “Two hours
per episode seems like it would be excessive, but it’s a great show, so who
knows?” HBO’s Casey Bloys said.
The Haunting
of GoT Houses
The show hasn’t
uploaded an official trailer yet, but executive producer and writer Bryan
Cogman has teased the overall theme of the eighth season.
“It’s about
all of these disparate characters coming together to face a common enemy,
dealing with their own past, and defining the person they want to be in the
face of certain death,” Cogman told EW. “It’s an incredibly emotional,
haunting, bittersweet final season and I think it honours very much what
[author George R.R. Martin] set out to do – which is flipping this kind of
story on its head.”
Who Makes
the Cut?
“Game of
Thrones” is like Russian roulette when it comes to surviving another season,
and every actor that makes it to the next round seems just as surprised as
audiences watching. Lena Headey, who plays the villainous Cersei Lannister,
thought her character wouldn’t make it it to the end of Season 7.
“I [assumed]
oh, I’m going to die,” she told Time about reading the script. “And then, I
went straight to the end. I was really in shock. I think obviously, now,
there’s got to be some body count at the end of [season] 8.”
Cersei’s
brother/lover Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) will head North to perhaps seek
Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) or Jon Snow (Kit Harington), and Davos also
makes it to the eighth season. And perhaps the best news: direwolf Ghost will
be back! The show’s visual effects supervisor, Joe Bauer, confirmed it, telling
Huffington Post that the fluffy fan favorite “has a fair amount of screen time”
in the new season.
Possible
Storylines
We know that
Season 8 will start at Winterfell as Daenery’s army makes its way there, and
since Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) is in charge of the capital of the north,
these two are bound to collide. Although she holds power, Turner said her
character may be “a little bit lost” as she’s finally rid of Littlefinger.
John
Bradley, who plays the lovable Samwell Tarly, said all the characters are in “a
completely alien environment at some points” in the new season. That could mean
anything, but fans are guessing that Sam may be heading to King’s Landing.
Beyond what’s
already known is some speculation, including that Jon Snow will find out who
his real parents are. Last season it was confirmed that Jon wasn’t Ned Stark’s
sire, but rather Ned’s sister Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen’s. If Jon
figures that out, it could make things awkward between him and his lover/aunt,
Daenerys. The series also hinted last season that Daenerys will become pregnant
with Jon’s baby soon, which again, makes their relationship even more
complicated/icky.
Arya Stark
(Maisie Williams) has six names left on her kill list, and it’s pretty likely
by the end of Season 8 that she’ll be able to cross more names off, which
includes the Hound (Rory McCann), the Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus “Thor”
Björnsson), and Melisandre (Carice van Houten). And speaking of the Red
Priestess, she’s warned Varys (Conleth Hill) in Season 7 that she will return
to Westeros “one last time. I have to die in this strange country, just like
you.”
A Prequel Is
in the Works
“Game of
Thrones” may be ending, but the world of the show may not be ending anytime
soon. HBO has given a pilot order to a prequel series, one of five “Game of
Thrones” projects that are in the pipeline. Taking place thousands of years
before the events of “Game of Thrones,” the new show chronicles the world’s
fall from the Age of Heroes into its grimmest era. If all these projects pan
out, we may be looking at a “Game of Thrones” dominated pop-culture landscape
for another 20 or 30 years.
Every battle.— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) November 13, 2018
Every betrayal.
Every risk.
Every fight.
Every sacrifice.
Every death.
All #ForTheThrone. pic.twitter.com/WReVt473SH
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