Winter has finally come on Game
of Thrones.
The White Walkers have broken through The
Wall with a dragon under their command, and Westeros’s
fate rests in the hands of a Stark bastard, a heavy drinking dwarf, a
faceless girl, a red-headed schemer, a boy-turned-Raven, and the
Mother of Dragons.
Game of
Thrones‘s eighth and
final season looks set to be an epic sprint to the end
of George RR Martin’s gigantic tale of kings, queens and paupers.
So,
what do we know about the upcoming season? Look no further, as The
Independent has put together a comprehensive list of everything
we currently know about season eight, from new cast members and story
speculation to air dates and how to watch.
What we have seen so far?
At first, HBO kept information regarding the upcoming season very close to their chest, doing all they can to prevent leaks. However, just over a month from the first episode and they have released a trailer of actual footage (the video can be seen at the top of this article).
Following that trailer's release, two more teasers were released, featuring a few more new scenes. One new moment sees Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) standing before Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) in Winterfell.
“We must all fight together now, or die,” Tyrion tells the pair, hinting that there may have been some initial conflict.
Another moment – titled “Together” – sees Daenerys looking away from Jon Snow (Kit Harington), with the bastard Stark having a sullen face.
There’s also a new look at Tyrion, Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) and Varys (Conleth Hill) at Winterfell.
The network initially released a couple of teaser trailers featuring mild hints at the future of these beloved characters without including actual footage for the show.
The most notable of those first teasers was released to coincide with the official season eight release date announcement. The teaser features Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), Sansa Star (Sophie Turner) and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) walking through the crypts of Winterfell as the voices of deceased Starks echo out .
Meanwhile, fans got a glimpse of footage from season eight in an HBO 2019 sneak-peak video, which saw Jon and Sansa embrace. The network’s extended look at their 2019 schedule also featured a brief look at Daenerys (Emelia Clarke) meeting Sansa for the first time. Watch below.
On the picture front, HBO has been more forthcoming. The network has released a set of 14 photos from the upcoming season, establishing the 13 main players heading into the last few episodes. Like the trailers, there’s little to gleam from them – but at least we know Jon, Danny and Tyrion make it to Winterfell.
New cast members
Seeing as there are only six episodes in which to wrap up this epic story, it should be of little surprise that few new characters will be introduced. Casting calls have been ambiguous, detailing such parts as ”Northern Girl” and “Boy”. There’s little to go on, but reports previously detailed that Harry Strickland – the leader of the Golden Company in the books – has been cast, with The Last Kingdom’s Marc Rissmann taking on the role.
Who’s coming back?
Along with all the main cast, Carice van Houten let slip that the Red Woman will return in a now-deleted Instagram post. Welsh actor Wilf Scolding, who played Jon Snow’s real father Rhaegar Targaryen during the season seven finale, also hinted at his return on Instagram – the post has, as expected, been deleted.
One person who does not look set to return is Mark Gattis’s Tycho Nestoris, who said earlier this year: “I’m not in it, so I guess I survive.” Ellie Kendrick’s Meera Reed also looks set not to return, having previously said: “[I’m not appearing] as far as I know.”
Also of note: Joe Dempsie has teased a huge role for Gendry in the upcoming season, saying he’s “done well out of it this year, for sure,” adding that he has filmed “a fair bit” for the final season.
A battle to end all battles
With so much secrecy, we know little for sure about season eight’s plot. However, we understand that the crew spent a massive 55 days filming one major battle in at the Moneyglass Base in Northern Ireland. That’s far longer than has been spent on any other Game of Thrones battle. Dinklage said the scene “makes ‘Battle of the Bastards’ look like a theme park.”
Maisie Williams and other cast members have since elaborated, with the Arya actor saying she was "broken" by the intense, physical shoot required for a huge battle at Winterfell.
“I skip the battle every year, which is bizarre since Arya’s the one who’s been training the most,” Williams said. “This is my first taste of it. And I’ve been thrown in at the deep end.”
Episode count and runtimes
Whereas the first six seasons all consisted of
10 episodes, season seven was made up of only
seven. Showrunners David Benioff and D B Weiss have
decided to likewise limit the length of season eight, deciding on just six
episodes. (The duo originally wanted to release three feature-length
movies, rather than six episodes, but HBO went against the
decision.)
Reports have previously claimed that each
episode will also run for around 80 to 90 minutes – longer than the normal 60
minutes for the show. This has been backed up by a leak from one of HBO’s
French broadcasters, which claims the season will begin with two
hour-long episodes, with the remaining four lasting at least 80-minutes each.
Release date and how to watch
Game of Thrones returns on 14 April.
HBO teased the official release on multiple occasions before announcing the actual date, first confirming that Game of Thrones would return in the ‘first half’ of 2019 last year, then narrowing that down to April 2019 a few months later. The network narrowed that down further to April soon after, only officially announcing the 14 April date with an extended teaser.
Maisie Williams – who plays Arya – previously let slip that the “our first episode [will air] in April”. Viewers in the US can watch on HBO. Sky Atlantic and NOW TV will simulcast every episode in the UK. You will also be able to catch up via NOW TV.
HBO has since confirmed the runtime for
each episode: the third episode will be the show's longest ever
episode.
Episode
one: 54 mins
Episode
two: 58 mins
Episode
three: 1 hr 22 mins
Episode
four: 1 hr 18 mins
Episode
five 1 hr 20 mins
Episode
six: 1 hr 20 mins
Also of note: each episode cost a
rumoured $15 million to produce.
Reports vary on how much the cast have been paid, but Variety previously claimed Emilia Clarke
(Daenerys Targaryen), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister),
Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Kit Harrington (Jon Snow) and
Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) all got $500,000 (£384,000) per
episode.
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