Game Of Thrones Season 7: New Cast Members
As we enter the final two seasons of Game of Thrones, we are going to see fewer new characters introduced to the story. The show is now dedicated to wrapping up the existing plot threads and can’t waste time introducing new ones.
There will be a few new characters introduced in the seventh season of Game of Thrones. The main ones that we know of include an Archmaester of the Citadel, who is played by Jim Broadbent (an actor best known for playing Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter movies) and Alys Karstark, who is played by Megan Parkinson. Alys actually has a large role in the 5th book in the series. She is one of the heirs to House Karstark and flees to the Wall in order to seek Jon Snow’s protection, as her uncle is attempting to usurp the castle of Karhold. This storyline likely won’t make it into the show, considering Jon is no longer in the Night’s Watch.
Game of Thrones is also continuing its tradition of using celebrity fans in cameo roles. In Season 7, we will be seeing UFC Champion Conor McGregor as one of the pirates aboard Euron Greyjoy’s ship.
Game Of Thrones Season 7 Trailers
There have been two different Game of Thrones trailers released for Season 7. They have laid down the basic storylines that we can expect to see in the coming season.
The main story will focus on Daenerys bringing her army to Westeros and coming into conflict with Queen Cersei, who has rallied the Seven Kingdoms. It seems that King Euron’s fleet will also be a factor in this struggle. Arya Stark returns to the North, while Bran tries to make his way south of the Wall. Jon & Sansa are building towards a power struggle in Winterfell, which leads to Jon traveling north of the Wall at some point. It seems that the White Walkers are on the move and are almost ready for their invasion of the Seven Kingdoms.
Read More: Game of Thrones Season 7 Trailer #2 Breakdown
Game Of Thrones Season 7 Posters
Each new series of Game of Thrones brings a new set of posters, along with another group of fakes that you will see shared across social media. These can generally be spotted a mile off, but there will inevitably be someone who will post a shoddily photoshopped picture of an undead dragon on your Facebook feed and it will be your job to break the news to them.
The latest batch of Game of Thrones posters depicts the main cast as Wights, with bright blue eyes and silvery white skin. It seems that all of the advertising has been heavily skewed towards the White Walkers, with ice and snow being featured prominently in all of the promotional material for the show. Are the Walkers finally going to invade Westeros or will they dick around behind the Wall for another season?
Read More: HBO Releases Game of Thrones Season 7 Character Posters
Game of Thrones Season 7 Will Have Seven episodes
The Game of Thrones fanbase let out a collective shriek last year when it was revealed that the seventh season of the show would only contain seven episodes and would be broadcast in the summer of 2017, rather than in the spring. The reason Season 7 has fewer episodes is that the creators wanted to include more action. This meant that the show would be using more of its budget for less screen time. As such, the decision was made to cut the amount of episodes down to seven.
This change isn’t as quite as bad as you might think, as several of the episodes are longer than normal. The finale is said to be around eighty minutes long, which will make it the longest episode of the show’s run. If you add up all of the extra time added on to the episodes, then we have around eight regular episodes worth of material.
Read More: Game of Thrones Season 7 to Conclude with Longest Episodes Yet
Game Of Thrones Season 7 Lady Stoneheart: Will She Appear?
One of the most infamous characters from the A Song of Ice & Fire novels that hasn’t made it into the show is Lady Stoneheart. She was originally Catelyn Stark, who has her throat slit at the end of the Red Wedding. The Freys dumped her body into the river, which is later found by the Brotherhood Without Banners. Their leader, Beric Dondarrion, gives up the last of the fire that keeps resurrecting him and passes it into Catelyn. She awakens from her death as the wicked Lady Stoneheart, who seeks vengeance on the Freys and the Lannisters for the Red Wedding.
The return of Beric Dondarrion in Season 6 sparked rumors of Lady Stoneheart’s arrival into the series. As far as we know, Michelle Fairley has not been seen anywhere near the Game of Thrones filming locations, so it is unlikely that she is returning to the show. There is also the fact that several years have passed since the Red Wedding, which means that Catelyn’s body is probably beyond reviving. It might not be Catelyn who is brought back as Lady Stoneheart, however, as there are other Stark women in the North and Beric is on his way there. Will Sansa or Arya become the TV show version of Lady Stoneheart?
Read More: Will Lady Stoneheart Appear on Game of Thrones?
Game Of Thrones Season 8 Information
Even though Season 7 of Game of Thrones hasn’t begun yet, there is talk of what is going to happen in Season 8, which is confirmed to be the final Season of the show. Benioff & Weiss have confirmed that the eighth season has almost been completely written, but actual production hasn’t begun yet. There have been many rumors about Season 8 being pushed back to 2019, though the creators have claimed that they aren’t far enough in the production schedule to know when it will be finished.
HBO is likely in no rush to finish Game of Thrones, considering that it is one of their biggest shows. With that being said, they must know that the show has a shelf life and that they will need other hits to keep the network going. Luckily for HBO, they have Westworld, which was one of their most viewed series of all time. It seems that Westworld is being primed to take Game of Thrones place in the future.
Read More: Game of Thrones Creators Give Update On Season 8
Game Of Thrones Spin-Offs Are Happening
With Game of Thrones entering its final years, it seems that the story of Westeros is drawing to a close… or at least, the Westeros as we know it. HBO has announced that four spinoffs for the show are being considered for development.
We currently know for a fact that the two most likely candidates for Game of Thrones prequels are not among the four under consideration. The Dunk & Egg prequel novels won’t be adapted, nor will we see Robert’s Rebellion on the screen.
This leaves the question of what stories remain that could be adapted? The most obvious candidate is the “Dance of the Dragons”, which was the Targaryen civil war that ended up with the deaths of most of their dragons. There is also the possibility of an adaptation of the first war against the White Walkers.
Read More: HBO Not Expecting All Four Game of Thrones Spinoffs to Happen.
Game Of Thrones Season 7 Differences From The Books
It’s safe to say at this point that Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice & Fire have become two separate entities. The show has had to ignore or severely reduce several of the main plotlines from the books, as there isn’t enough time to include them all.
Lady Stoneheart’s presence is one of the biggest differences from the books. There is also a plot involving a character named Young Griff, who Tyrion discovers is actually Aegon Targaryen. Aegon is technically the rightful King of Westeros and he lands in the Stormlands with an army to retake his homeland. Prince Doran Martell sends his oldest child, Arianne, to treat with Aegon and see if he truly is who he claims to be.
The story of Aegon’s true identity has become a major plotline in the A Song of Ice & Fire novels. The showrunners decided to remove it, as it would only have complicated the narrative further. Aegon’s removal in the show suggests that he won’t be sticking around for long in the books as well.
Read More: Game of Thrones: 15 Book Moments We’re Glad Weren’t In The Show
Game Of Thrones Season 7: The Directors
The seven episodes of the latest season of Game of Thrones were split across four directors, with each of them filming two episodes, except for Alan Taylor, who only did one.
The four directors are Jeremy Podeswa (who did episodes 1 & 7), Mark Mylod (episodes 2 & 3), Matt Shakman (episodes 4 & 5), and Alan Taylor (episode 6). Jeremy Podeswa has worked on numerous HBO shows in the past, such as Boardwalk Empire and True Blood. He has previously directed four episodes of Game of Thrones in Seasons 5 & 6. Mark Mylod has worked in the film & TV industry for years, including several famous British comedy shows. He has previously directed four episodes of Game of Thrones in Seasons 5 & 6. Matt Shakman has previously worked on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and will be making his Game of Thrones debut in Season 7. Alan Taylor has directed episodes of numerous HBO shows, such as The Sopranos and Sex and the City, as well as other shows like Lost and Mad Men. He has previously directed six episodes of Game of Thrones in Seasons 1 & 2 and is returning to the series after a long absence.
Game Of Thrones Season 7: The Writers
With Season 7 of Game of Thrones only having seven episodes, the show requires fewer writers than usual to create all of the scripts necessary. George R. R. Martin is abstaining from writing an episode, as has done for the past few years, in order to continue working on The Winds of Winter.
The writers who are confirmed to have written episodes for Season 7 are all people who have worked on the show in the past. Dave Benioff and D. B. Weiss wrote the first three episodes, along with their other duties as showrunners. Bryan Cogman has been writing for the show since the first season, where he wrote “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things”. Cogman is taking his Game of Thrones experience into new projects, as he currently working on a movie adaptation of Magic: The Gathering. Dave Hill started out as an assistant to Benioff & Weiss, before becoming a writer on the show in Season 5.
Game Of Thrones Season 7: The Destruction Of Briemund
Season 6 introduced one of the most unlikely couplings in Game of Thrones history. When Brienne of Tarth first traveled to the Wall with Sansa, she encountered Tormund Giantsbane, who became smitten with her. Tormund has a reputation for liking larger women, as he claims to have drunkenly had sex with a female bear in the past. Brienne doesn’t share Tormund’s affections, though fans hoped that she would warm to him over time.
Gwendoline Christie has since confirmed that the Brienne/Tormund romance subplot was totally improvised by the actors and should not be taken at face value. She confirmed that Brienne doesn’t share Tormund’s affections in the slightest.
Read More: No Brienne & Tormund Romance In Game Of Thrones
Game Of Thrones Season 7 Spoilers
Game of Thrones has had an unusual experience when it comes to spoilers. The fact that the series had five books worth of material to spoil meant that fans of the TV show were treading through a minefield whenever they tried to research the show online. You couldn’t type Jon Snow’s name into a search engine without “Jon Snow is dead” coming up in the search bar. Things calmed down a little when the show caught up to the books, though spoilers did creep out from time to time. This is due to the fact that the large battle scenes require outdoor filming, which is hard to hide. Jon Snow’s resurrection was spoilt long before Season 6 was broadcast because people saw Kit Harington filming the Battle of the Bastards.
With the show coming back in a few days, it wouldn’t be fair for us to put out spoilers where your poor virgin eyes can see them. If you want to know more about the first few episodes, then you can check out some of the things that we have learned below.
Read More: Game of Thrones Season 7 Episodes 1-3 Titles & Synopses Revealed
