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Winter is finally here. HBO has revealed that the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones will premiere Sunday April 14th at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The announcement came during the third season premiere of True Detective in a teaser trailer titled “Crypts of Winterfell.”
The teaser, directed byDavid Nutter and featuring an original score fromGame of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi, opens with an image of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) traversing a dark tunnel into the Stark family crypt at Winterfell. He’s joined by Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams). As the trio, who have presumably reunited, stand before death statues of themselves, the light blows out and ice coats the floor, suggesting that the long-promised winter has arrived at last.
The final season will run for six episodes, some of which may be as long as 90 minutes (the producers have called them “mini-movies”). The teaser confirms the importance of Winterfell in the final season, as reported in Entertainment Weekly‘s recent feature, which noted that season eight opens in the Stark compound with the arrival ofDaenerys Targaryen and her army. The action will all lead up to the ultimate battle between the humans and theArmy of the Dead.
HBO previously revealed a snippet of footage in an earlier clip promoting its overall slate. The short footage showcasedSansa greeting Jon and Daenerys during their arrival at Winterfell, an event that fans have noted mirrorsKing Robert Baratheon’s first meeting with Ned Stark in the show’s initial season.
HBO has not yet announced the overall schedule for the show’s final episodes, but this premiere date sets the finale for Sunday, May 19th, when we finally will learn who will die and who will claim the iron throne.
