HBO finally answered the question many people around the world has been exited to hear about. The cable TV network revealed the Game of Thrones Season 8 release date and a new teaser to increase the excitement further.
Game Of Thrones Season 8 release date
On Tuesday, HBO announced that the final season will premiere in April.
“Every battle. Every betrayal. Every risk. Every fight. Every sacrifice. Every death. All #ForTheThrone,” reads HBO’s post about the Game of Thrones Season 8 release date.
Not a Queen, a Khaleesi #ForTheThrone. pic.twitter.com/2h19EV1Sbu
— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) November 13, 2018
In addition to revealing the Game of Thrones Season 8 release date, HBO also released a trailer of the finale via its official Twitter handle. Notably, the video has nothing new to offer. Instead, it includes crucial moments from the past seven seasons.
Every battle.
Every betrayal.
Every risk.
Every fight.
Every sacrifice.
Every death.
All #ForTheThrone. pic.twitter.com/WReVt473SH— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) November 13, 2018
HBO also released several posters of the show, with each carrying the “#ForTheThrone” hashtag. The posters are believed to be part of the bigger marketing campaign, which will get more intense as we move closer to the release date.
Reports suggest HBO is planning outdoor events in New York and Los Angeles for its #ForTheThrone campaign. The first event, set for Nov. 27 at Grand Central Station in New York City, will reportedly include a limited run of Game of Thrones subway cards.
HBO so far has been quiet on the final season of Game of Thrones. Prior to revealing the Game of Thrones Season 8 release date, HBO previously said the final season would premiere in “the first half of 2019.” Even now, the exact date for the first episode of the final season has not been revealed.
What to expect from Season 8
Despite the new teaser video, fans still have learned nothing about the final season, except for some leaked set images. Shooting for the final season was recently completed. Several cast members, including Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen on the show, were seen posting farewell messages on social media.
A big reason there hasn’t been any leaks about the new season is how strict the makers are. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jamie Lannister, said earlier that the filming of Season 8 was similar to a Mission: Impossible film, as scripts of the show were programmed to “self-destruct” after the scene is done. Further, the actor revealed that the actors got their lines in digital format.
Unlike the usual 10 episodes in a season, the final season will have only six episodes. However, those six episodes will have feature-length run times, which means they will be 80 minutes or longer. Liam Cunningham, who plays Davos Seaworth on the show, told TV Guide in October that the episodes are “definitely going to be bigger and what I hear is longer.”
The reason there are fewer episodes could be due to the high budget for the show. Speaking to why HBO opted for a shorter season, co-creator DB Weiss told Variety, “It’s crossing out of a television schedule into more of a mid-range movie schedule.”
In the sixth season, each episode cost about $10 million on average, while the per-episode cost in Season 8 is expected to be about $15 million each.
Reports also suggest that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik, will direct the final season. The episodes are reportedly written by Benioff, Weiss, Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill.
Jon Snow’s loyal direwolf ghost is expected to make a comeback in Season 8.
“Oh, you’ll see him again. He has a fair amount of screen time in Season 8. He’s very present and does some pretty cool things in season eight,” HBO visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer told The Huffington Post.
What’s next after Season 8?
Even though Season 8 will be the finale, George R.R. Martin, author of the fantasy novel series, recently said he is working on the sixth book in the series. HBO also revealed in June that it was working on a prequel for the show, which will be based on events which occurred thousands of years before the current series.
Game of Thrones is an immensely popular fantasy drama. Its popularity is evident from the fact that the show won 46 Primetime Emmy Awards, including for Outstanding Drama Series in 2015, 2016, and 2018. It is HBO’s biggest hit so far with about 30 million viewers in the United States alone.
