Fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones have been told that winter is coming for seven seasons, and now we know when it will finally arrive: April 14.
HBO announced the Game of Thrones season 8 premiere date in a new teaser (see above) for the upcoming, final story arc of the hit series.
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The preview features Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) reuniting in the Crypts of Winterfell as the voices of various family members who have died in earlier seasons can be heard urging them on. The trio is brought together at a junction in the crypts where statues of all three siblings can be seen, only to realize that an icy entity is pursuing them. They arm themselves and prepare for the impending battle as the preview fades to black, then reveals the premiere date for season 8.
The final season of Game of Thrones will consist of six feature-length episodes that bring the war for the Iron Throne to a conclusion. The seventh season ended with Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and her army — which includes a few dragons — headed to Westeros and aligned with Jon Snow. Meanwhile, Cersei (Lena Headey) has assumed control of the Iron Throne after the death of her children and seven seasons of diabolical machinations, and a greater threat approaches from the north as The Night King (Vladimir Furdik) and his frozen, undead army moves south.
Although the eighth season will offer the final arc in the Game of Thrones series, fans have more to look forward to in Westeros. A prequel series set 1,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones is currently in the works. Naomi Watts has already been cast in a lead role in the series and SJ Clarkson (The Defenders, Jessica Jones) will direct the pilot episode and serve as showrunner.
Additional projects set in the world of Westeros and surrounding regions are also being developed by HBO, although none have been officially confirmed by the cable network at this point.
Series creators David Benioff, D.B. Weiss return for one final turn as showrunners and executive producers on season 8 of Game of Thrones.
