Few shows hold a candle to the epic scale and scope of Game of Thrones, and fewer still are able to attract over 150,000 fans via Facebook Live.
And yet, that’s exactly what HBO’s fantasy flagship did earlier today as part of an elaborate reveal event. Following on the suitably chilly poster, the network invited Facebook users to type “fire” and “dracarys” into the comments to essentially fuel the on-hand flamethrower. Its target? A giant block of ice, in which was buried the official Game of Thrones season 7 premiere date. And so, after much keyboard-bashing, it’s official: the seventh and penultimate season of HBO’s epic arrives on July 16th.
Comprised of seven episodes in total – the eighth and final season is expected to run for around six or eight episodes, depending on the finale that David Benioff and Dan Weiss have rustled up – the upcoming batch of episodes has been pitched as a bleak, harrowing journey, one that will seemingly culminate in a nail-biting cliffhanger. Perhaps the one thing that has fans on tenterhooks, though, is the moment when some of the show’s biggest chess pieces (read: Jon Snow and Daenerys) cross paths for the very first time. All of this (and much more!) will light up the small screen very soon indeed.
Angled as the penultimate season for HBO’s fantasy flagship, Game of Thrones season 7 will arrive July 16th. Temperamental weather is to blame for the show’s late return, but if nothing else, the prolonged wait has only fuelled excitement even more. If you’re not sick of staring ice square in the face, you’re in luck; the first teaser poster for Thrones‘ seventh season is embedded below.