Game Of Thrones Season 8 Release Date Delayed Considerably

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28 Nov, 2017 – With news breaking that filming has begun on Game of Thrones season 8, fans of the epic TV series will be awaiting footage eagerly.

Of course, because of the by now infamous Game of Thrones hacking case, security surrounding the shoot of the Game of Thrones season 8 will be tighter than ever before. So we are unlikely to see anything concrete from the filming for quite some time, but no doubt a fair few rumors will seep out before the season is released.

Shooting commences

Game of Thrones season 8 has now officially got underway, with shooting on the Winterfell set having taken place. Work in Belfast is also ongoing, with a vast new set structure having been instructed for this last series of the fantasy drama.

HBO will be looking for a Game of Thrones season 8 to be a massive success, as there will be no more episodes of the hit series after these six. While the television station will no doubt unearth new successes once Game of Thrones moves on, there is also no doubt that it will be extremely difficult to replace.

Fan sites have also discovered a new character for Game of Thrones season 8 in the last couple of days. Watchers on the Wall discover that actress Danielle Galligan has been cast as part of the new tranche of episodes, with her character apparently being named Sarra.

Sarra appearance

It is notable that the only appearance of this character name in the Song of Ice and Fire novels is with reference to Sarra Frey. This character is a granddaughter of the now deceased Walder, which could lead to an interesting plotline in the screenplay. Certainly some are speculating that a return of House Frey is possible, but the writers will be contemplating precisely how to deal with this, and it is possible that the name of Sarra may refer to a completely different character.

Other appointments

Elsewhere, it has also been reported that another well-known actress will be involved in Game of Thrones season 8. Emer McDaid has been finishing off her role in this critical series of television episodes recently, with her efforts appearing on her Spotlight CV. It would seem based on the release of this information that her role will be relatively minor, but she could of course be called back for more shooting at a later date.

Another actress confirmed for Game of Thrones season 8 is Alice Nokes. The 19-year-old is already a well-known figure with an outstanding profile, and it seems that her role in the latest series of this sci-fi epic is assured.

Nokes posed with both Galligan and McDaid for a Instagram photo taken in Belfast, with her target for the image indicating that she is very much a part of Game of Thrones season 8. We don’t have any further information about this other than her involvement, but it will be interesting to see what sort of role of the teenager plays.

Casting company

And a Northern Irish casting company, Independent Agency, has also seemingly made reference on its website to Game of Thrones season 8, although the statement in question is actually rather late. “Thomas Finnegan, Conor Maguire, Emer McDaid, Eileen McCloskey and Katie Tumelty join the cast of a major TV series,” the statement notes, although this almost certainly refers to the latest series of Game of Thrones.

This is particularly true due to the presence of McDaid, which would seem to confirm that Game of Thrones is the series in question. It is also notable that the agency has provided actors for Game of Thrones in the past, including Sara Dylan, who played Cersei’s chambermaid, Bernadette.

We do know from previous previous seasons of Game of Thrones that several Freys survived Arya’s revenge attack for the Red Wedding. This could see the house resurrected in the forthcoming Game of Thrones season 8.

Grammy nomination

In other news, it seems that the hugely popular television series has received its first major Grammy nomination. The head of the release of Game of Thrones season 8, composer Ramin Djawadi was nominated in the category for score soundtrack at the forthcoming awards ceremony. Djawadi was previously nominated for a Grammy for composing the score of “Iron Man,” get the series of the mark.

Game of Thrones has been hugely successful critically, and has already been nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy for the Season 4 episode “The Mountain and the Viper.” Certainly every aspect of the Game of Thrones production is impressive, and this could lead to Game of Thrones season 8 breaking through as a Grammy-worthy series.

Previous efforts from Game of Thrones composers have already been acknowledged by some esteemed sources. he International Film Music Critics Assn.; the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; the Hollywood Music in Media Awards and the World Soundtrack Awards have all featured Game of Thrones scores amid awards ceremonies.

With writers and producers at HBO keener to see Game of Thrones season 8 performed superbly, it is interesting to note that Jóhann Jóhannsson for “Arrival,” Hans Zimmer for “Dunkirk,” Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams and Hans Zimmer for “Hidden Figures” and Justin Hurwitz for “La La Land.” Will all be competing for the aforementioned Grammy.

HBO challenge

While HBO will be extremely proud of the performance of Game of Thrones throughout its run, the disappearance of the fantasy series after season 8 will undoubtedly test the studio. A climate in which Apple, Amazon and Netflix are investing billions in producing original content is certainly challenging for HBO, and it would love to discover another hit such as Game of Thrones sooner rather than later.

Game of Thrones season 8 is on the horizon, and expectation for the HBO blockbuster is intensifying. Casey Bloys, HBO president of programming, has already confirmed that season 8 will be the final Game of Thrones production, as has previously been stated by show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

2019 release date

But the latest revelations suggest that this massive television season may not appear on our screens until 2019. Naturally there is huge expectation regarding the final episodes of probably the most popular television program in the world, and this could delay production quite significantly.

The rumors regarding the release date of Game of Thrones season 8 first emanated from a report in Entertainment Weekly. The aforementioned Bloys was interviewed by the publication, and indicated that writing the possible 12 hours of Game of Thrones material could take quite some time.

“They have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule. We’ll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing,” Bloys commented.

Rumors ahead of Game of Thrones season 8 suggest that it may consist entirely of feature-length episodes. This is an interesting proposition, as the only previous show to run for this length was the final episode of season 7, and even this was only 80 minutes long.

Con of Thrones revelation

But the fan event Con of Thrones featured reports that feature-length episodes of the drama were likely for season 8. At this stage, the producers and writers involved in Game of Thrones certainly need to produce something outstanding and out of the ordinary in order to surprise and interest the audience, and this cinematic quality could be the ideal approach.

Whether fans will welcome the 18-months delay for Game of Thrones season 8 is highly doubtful, but at least it will be somewhat worthwhile if they ultimately receive six mini-movies.

Scouting Ireland

Nonetheless, although the final release of Game of Thrones may be some distance away, pre-production is already ongoing. HBO have already decided to set some of the shoot in Belfast, Ireland once more, with the capital city of Northern Ireland having been the base of operations for Game of Thrones over the last few years.

Production teams from Game of Thrones have been located at some of the most famous castles in Ireland, while the Roman amphitheater in Spain was also used for the “Dragonpit” in the Game of Thrones season 7 finale.

Scandinavian twist

But reports have also suggested that key personnel from HBO have been examining Sweden and Norway as possible settings for season 8. It seems that Norway has been identified as being particularly attractive, so it will be interesting to see which locations are utilized. It has been suggested on fan pages that Game of Thrones season 8 will particularly focus on wolves, which are resident in northern Europe.

Another issue regarding production of a Game of Thrones season 8 is the wintry weather required in order to convey atmosphere. This will delay shooting, and it is expected that the filming for this eighth season of Game of Thrones will not conclude until March 2018. Considering the vast post-production required for six feature length episodes of the drama, this means that it is almost inevitable that the production will miss the July 2018 start date that had been mooted at one time.

Iron Banker

While fan favorites from season 7 are all expected to be retained for the forthcoming filming of Game of Thrones, some intriguing new background characters are also anticipated. For example, Mark Gattis indicated that his Iron Banker character, Tycho Nestoris, will reappear for two episodes in season 8, which could represent quite a significant amount of screen time considering the length of each episode.

Gattis previously appeared in Sherlock, and is expected to check into the Game of Thrones season 8 in order to acquaint himself with his investment in Cersei Lannister in her current war.

Directors

Fans have been excited by the return of Miguel Sapochnik to the series, associated with two of the most cinematographically stunning episodes in the history of the series. “The Battle of the Bastards” and “The Winds of Winter” where both hugely acclaimed, so it will be intriguing to see what Sapochnik has in mind for the latest episodes.

Other directors will also be involved in season 8, but the finale will be particularly interesting, as runners Beinhoff and Weiss will be directing! This does seem like an appropriate way to end what has been a phenomenally successful series, and it will be interesting to see how the drama is brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

HBO has declined to provide any information on who will be directing which Game of Thrones season 8 episode, beyond the final one, but we do also know that David Nutter will be involved. Nutter has been responsible for directing six previous hours of Game of Thrones, including the highly regarded “The Rains of Castamere”, which was the penultimate episode of the season three.

Writing

While acting and directing are always hugely important, no drama series can ever be remotely credible without good writing. So the efforts of Benioff and Weiss to draft in quality writers for the final season of this stellar production will obviously be a major focus of preparation.

Unusually, speaking at the South by Southwest event this year, Benioff and Weiss revealed all of the writing team behind this final series of the fantasy drama, with the very first episode being penned by Dave Hill. This sounds like a very safe pair of hands for the introductory episode, as Hill has been an assistant and story editor to the main runners since the second season of Game of Thrones.

Episode two will be written by Bryan Cogman, while the final four episodes have all been written by Benioff and Weiss themselves. Clearly the runners want some hands-on involvement in this final Game of Thrones season.

Game of Thrones season 8 ending

No one is quite sure what to expect from the finale of Game of Thrones season 8, and this is particularly true as the producers will be keeping the ending under wraps. Bloys told The Morning Call that “I know in Game of Thrones, the ending, they’re going to shoot multiple versions so nobody really know what happens. You have to do that on a long show because when you’re shooting something, people know. So they’re going to shoot multiple versions so that there’s no definitive answer until the end”.

Certainly appetites will be whetted by this news, even if we may have to wait until well into 2019 to see this final instalment of the classic television series.

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