TFW you find out it will be another YEAR before you can get your Game of Thrones fix...

(Credit: HBO)

And now our watch begins

On January 4th, 2018, HBO announced that their hit TV series Game of Thrones will return to the airwaves sometime in 2019. They also confirmed that this eighth (and final) season will have only six episodes.

That means we have a long road ahead of us as we wait to find out how this epic story concludes on-screen. The season seven finale aired on August 27th, 2017, so even if season eight airs in January 2019, fans will have waited at least a year and a half for the show to make its final curtain call. A Spring 2019 launch seems more likely...which will extend our wait even further.

That said, Game of Thrones fans are used to waiting; it's already been nearly seven years since George R.R. Martin published A Dance with Dragons--the most recent installment in his A Song of Ice and Fire saga. At this rate, we might have The Winds of Winter before season eight airs. Haha...yeah, probably not.

We do not kneel

So with nothing left to do between now and 2019 except ruminate over fan theories or rewatch that boatsex scene another 100 times, here's what we know so far about Game of Thrones season eight. This is your first and only warning: Spoilers ahead!

Production on the season started back in October 2017, and there is at least another six months of filming left on the schedule. Compared to the shorter production schedule of previous seasons, it's looking like we can plan on some expansive and spectacular episodes for season eight. Kit Harington (Jon Snow) promises that the last season will be "bigger than it's ever been."
While there will only be six episodes in the final season, some of them may be longer than usual--but don't expect each episode to be movie-length.
The directors for this season will be David Benioff & D.B. Weiss (1 episode), David Nutter (3 episodes) and Miguel Sapochnik (2 episodes). Writing duties are being handled by Benioff and Weiss, Bryan Cogman, and Dave Hill.
- Nutter previously directed several popular episodes, including S03E09: The Rains of Castamere, which holds a 9.9/10 rating on IMDb. Nutter is slated to direct Episodes 1, 2, and 4 of the final season.
- Sapochnik is the director responsible for some of the show's most praised and action-packed episodes, including S05E08: Hardhome, S06E09: Battle of the Bastards, and S06E10: The Winds of Winter. All three of these episodes were rated 9.9/10 by IMDb users. Sapochnik will be directing Episodes 3 and 5 for season eight.
- Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss share most of the writing duties for the show. Previously, Benioff directed S03E03: Walk of Punishment (8.9/10) and Weiss directed S04E01: Two Swords (9.1/10). Together, they will co-direct Episode 6--the season eight (and series) finale.
Many of the main cast members (including Kit Harington) have been spotted in Belfast, Spain, AND Croatia--which suggests that they'll have scenes both in the North and in King's Landing this season.
You can expect that all of the surviving main cast from season seven will be back, but plan on also seeing a few familiar faces from the "second string," too--including Ben Crompton (Dolorous Edd), Megan Parkinson (Alys Karstark), Harry Grasby (Ned Umber), Joe Dempsie (Gendry), Hannah Murray (Gilly), and Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy). Sadly, that list doesn't appear to include Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed) so far.
Even though it's the final season, HBO has also added several new faces to the cast this year. Among them is German actor Marc Rissmann, who will play the mercenary Golden Company's leader Harry Strickland.
While most King's Landing outdoor scenes are shot in Spain or Dubrovnik, some fans have spotted a massive new KL set being built in Belfast for a "major" season eight action sequence. This set is right next door to a completely redesigned Winterfell exterior set, which is also supposed to figure into a big battle scene.
- With Sapochnik directing episodes 3 and 5, I would not be surprised to see those episodes feature massive battle sequences using these new sets. The Unsullied (with dragonglass spear-points) will be involved in at least one of these battles, as will a massive (and working) trebuchet spotted on-set recently.
- Filming is also planned for Iceland, which will likely tie into the final showdown between the living and the dead (probably somewhere near Winterfell).
- Rumors from the set indicate that the new King's Landing set-piece is going to be blown up in spectacular fashion by dragonfire. But who will control those dragons?
The showrunners are taking extra precautions this year to safeguard against leaks. This includes a social-media ban, protecting sets from drones, and (according to Emilia Clarke) even fake endings in the scripts that cast members have. "None of the cast know what the actual ending is," she claims.
Emilia might be pulling our leg on the secret endings, at least. Ben Crompton (Edd) says he thinks the ending is "very satisfying," claiming that "there’s a couple of things there that are like nothing else that’s been seen [on television.]" Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo) told EW after a Belfast set visit that the final season is "going to be the greatest thing that’s ever aired on TV. It’s going to be unbelievable. It’s going to f— up a lot of people." Kit Harington said that the season eight finale script got him quite emotional, and that "I cried at the end!"
Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) told The Hollywood Reporter that the entire cast got together for a table-read of the final six scripts on the first day of production--and things got pretty emotional. "It was hard. At the end of the very last script, they read aloud, ‘End of Game of Thrones.’ As soon as they read that out, pretty much everyone burst into tears. There was a standing ovation for [showrunners] David Benioff and Dan Weiss. We were all clapping and cheering. It was amazing.”
John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) promises some major changes are in store for the characters this season: "Each of the characters this year is placed in a completely alien environment at some point in the season that they’ve never been placed in before. The thrill is seeing how they react to it and how they respond… This season, I think, more than any other is stretching these characters.” Bradley also confirmed that Sam and Bran will remain a "formidable team" that will "shake the place up a bit as we go forward."
- Sophie Turner's interview with Variety seems to confirm this, at least for Sansa's arc: "This season, there’s a new threat, and all of a sudden she finds herself somewhat back in the deep end...this season is more a passionate fight for her than a political, manipulative kind of fight."

What is hype may never die

That's all the Game of Thrones season eight news I have so far for you, but as soon as anything new comes across my radar, I'll be sure to share it here! Thanks for reading, and leave a comment with your season eight theories, or just what you are most excited for in the final season!

-Claire