As we head into 2019, it means that the wait is nearly over for season eight of Game of Thrones.
The much-anticipated final season of the HBO fantasy epic is now within touching distance, sort of, if you count three months away as touching distance.
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Yes, in honesty, it is still frustratingly far away, but seen as it has been well over a year already since the last new episodes landed, what’s another few months or waiting?
With the producers, directors, writers and cast all going to great lengths to keep the secrets of season eight under wraps, we know very little about what will happen – but here is what we do know.
When is Game of Thrones season 8 released?
The teaser trailer from HBO has confirmed that season eight will arrive in April 2019.
We don’t yet know the exact date, but we now know that the final season will be here in around four months.
A fan theory has decided 14 April will be the launch date.
Reddit user Cubuffs424 wrote: ‘I’m sure many people have seen fan-made posters that say April 14th 2019 as the release date. Anyway, I was just looking into something based on season 7 dates.
‘So the first official footage for season 7, much like the footage we saw last month for season 8, was released on November 27th, 2016. The season then premiered on July 16th, 2017, which I found to be 231 days later.
‘I then compared that to the footage that was released on August 26th, 2018 by adding 231 days to it. The date I found? Sunday April 14th, 2019. Can’t be a coincidence can it?’
It could be just a coincidence, but who knows?
How many episodes are there?
There are six more episodes to come in the Game of Thrones saga.
We know very little about them, but we do know that David Nutter directed three of them, Miguel Sapochnik two and David Benioff & DB Weiss directed the final one.
Who is joining the cast?
The only major addition to the cast for the final series is German actor Marc Rissman (Into The Badlands) who joins as Harry Strickland, the leader of the Golden Company.
You might recall Cersei Lannister sent Euron Greyjoy to bring back the Golden Company to aid her defence over the Iron Throne, so it looks like they could play a tide-turning role in the final season.
A previous report from Watchers On The Wall indicated eight new people had been cast in the show, even though judging by the generic titles, these could be more battle fodder amid the ongoing war.
Other castings include Daniella Galligan as Sarra, which will presumably be Sarra Frey aka a granddaughter of Walder Frey, whilst Alice Nokes has also been cast as a character named Willa.
Where to watch Game of Thrones online
Sky customers can already watch it on demand via Sky Go – simply log in, and you’re in Westeros.
You can also catch it on repeat from time to time on Sky Atlantic.
If you’re not a Sky subscriber but still need some of that sweet George R.R. Martin action, you can sign up for a free trial of Now TV here.
This will give you 14 days of Sky programming… Just make sure to end the trial once you’re done binging.
After the trial ends, Now TV will cost you £7.99 per month.
Unfortunately, the series is not available on Netflix, much to the disappointment of subscribers everywhere.
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