Publications
Partners
Cape Town – “They are coming.”
And Jon Snow (Kit Harington) isn't talking about the dragons swooping through the sky in the first official season 8 Game of Thrones trailer.
In January HBO did an official “tease” as a short reminder promo of Game of Thrones with mostly previous seasons' content, but including as new footage, the underground crypt of Winterfell, where Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, and Jon Snow faced their own statues.
On Tuesday evening HBO released the first in a series of official trailers to come of the 8th and final season of Game of Thrones that will start on 15 April and that will be shown in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa as Express from the US on M-Net (DStv 101) at 03:00 and again at 22:00 in late prime time.
New episodes of Games of Thrones will also unspool on both MultiChoice's DStv Now Catch Up service and its subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, Showmax.
M-Net will also do a premiere episode Game of Thrones viewing party at 03:00 on 15 April at cinemas with South Africans who can dress up as characters and watch the spectacular start of the final 6 "mini-movie" episodes together.
READ MORE: M-Net is hosting a Game of Thrones big screen cosplay viewing party
In the first official Game of Thrones season 8 trailer, winter, dragons and danger are definitely here.
Without having to spell it out, viewers know that the biggest battle between Westeros and the invading White Walkers are looming, while the rulers of the different kingdoms are also still squabbling and scheming to kill each other.
Who finally will sit on the Iron Throne is anyone's guess, but it's self-evident that the majority of the remaining characters are not going to survive.
In the clip, Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) is seen – scared – and running for her life, saying "I know death, he's got many faces. I look forward to seeing this one".
Armies are forming, while dragons swoop over Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) overlooking a castle.
"Our enemy doesn't stop; doesn't tire; doesn't fear," says Jon Snow – wonderfully echoing ominous and very similar, spine-tingling pop culture quotes like Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan warning about the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2 before the start of epic clashes against almost unwinnable enemies.
"I promised to fight for the living. And I intend to keep that promise," says Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), the Kingslayer who seems to have had a change of heart towards the good guys.
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister looks quietly petrified at the Red Keep sipping wine, while Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister is seen looking up in trepidation.
John Bradley is still there as Samwell Tarly, Conleth Hill is seen as a perturbed and scared Varys the Spider, Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark appears as does Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth, together with Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth.
We seen Jon and Daenerys Targaryen walking purposefully toward waiting dragons, and then in the end, undead horse-hoofed legs.
Who's not dead? The official trailer reveals that three characters viewers thought died in the 7th season finale are still very much alive after the ice drag destroyed the Wall.
Free Folk Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju), acting Lord Commander of the Night's Watch Dolorous Edd (Ben Compton) and the Lightning Lord Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) who were all at the Eastwatch when the Night King flew overhead in the dragon and ice-torched the wall all somehow survived.
Episodes of Game of Thrones will all run longer than an hour with one episode that will contain an immense battle running the length of the entire episode and that would mark the longest consecutive action fighting and battle sequence in American television history.
