Strip away the ostentatious throne rooms and inspiring tales of valor and it’s fair to say that the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros have been built on a blood-drenched foundation of sprawling wars, treason and fallen dynasties.
The end result is enough drama to fuel Game of Thrones, HBO’s fantasy flagship that’s now teetering on the verge of its seventh (and perhaps best?) season on the airwaves. Excitement is palpable, particularly now that the show-stopping first trailer has found its way online. That scintillating teaser wasn’t the only Game of Thrones promo to hit the interwebs over the past week though, as Entertainment Weekly gathered together some of the show’s many power players for a rather wonderful cover shoot.
As is often the case, those action shots were accompanied by a smattering of interviews with the likes of D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, along with Kit Harington (Jon Snow) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) – as a matter of fact, the latter pair hinted at season 7’s breathless pace.
Both Harington and Coster-Waldau are poised for huge character arcs in Game of Thrones‘ next season, but they aren’t the only ones; Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) are also set to feature heavily all throughout season 7, and both actors have now teased each of their character’s increased screen time.
First up, Clarke said: “When I first read this season I thought: ‘Damn, I gotta learn some lines!’ We’re actually filming longer now. I don’t know how that’s happening.”
The Mother of Dragons wasn’t the only one shouldering an increased workload; Peter Dinklage also added: “I’ve worked more days this season than I have in quite some time.”
Last and certainly not least, D.B. Weiss touched base on the ways in which those power players will begin to intersect come July.
As the worlds start to converge the characters who haven’t met each other before start to meet each other and there are more main characters together in each other’s storylines than ever before. Ever since Tyrion crossed the Narrow Sea and met Dany that’s been the general direction. And having them on set together is a real privilege for us.
The Great War is almost upon us, as Game of Thrones season 7 is on course to light up the small screen on July 16th. An eighth and final season will follow in 2018, and we now have official confirmation that the show’s last hurrah will release as a truncated six-parter. Don’t be fooled into thinking that HBO is ready to conclude its Song of Ice and Fire saga, though, what with chatter of one (or more?) prequel series kicking into gear in the not-so-distant future.
