HBO
With episodes that cost $15 million a pop and will run over 90 minutes each, despite there only being six episodes, production on Game Of Thrones final season will take longer than any of the previous, meaning that it may not be released until late 2018 or even early 2019 (if Planet Earth even makes it that long).
Nevertheless, production is officially underway as the cast has started to pour into Belfast. So far, most of the show’s principal cast such Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau have arrived. Actors who play supporting characters such as Dolorous Edd, Tormund, and Samwell Tarley have also been spotted.
via Vanity Fair:
One fan spotted a bunch of cast members on location in Belfast, including Hivju, whom she photographed standing alongside Dolorous Edd actor Ben Crompton. Fans have already spotted most of the show’s principal cast as well, including Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Now that the Thrones train is running once more, nothing can stop it—well, except Harington’s wedding to former Game of Thrones star Rose Leslie, which will evidently halt production for a day so that the cast and crew can attend the festivities.
The Hivju sighting is by far the most exciting beginning-of-production development so far. Sure, for all we know, the actor could simply be filming a flashback, or an extended death scene in which he slowly bleeds out thanks to a fallen icicle—but at the very least we know he’s got at least a few moments of screen time left.
Going into its final season, the HBO juggernaut’s plot points are all, as always, closely guarded secrets. But in the wake of the massive hack the company faced earlier this year, even more secrecy precautions are being taken than ever before.
Given the sheer scale of the final six episodes, no official release date for Game of Thrones season 8 has been released, but it’s looking like best cast scenario is Fall 2018.
