It feels like it's been a long time since we last got an episode of Game of Thrones, and that's because it really has been. Normally we'd be getting a new season every year, but they're taking an extra year to create the eighth (and final) season - undoubtedly because it's going to be wall-to-wall battle scenes as the many, many characters of the show all come together for the final showdown.
We know the last episodes of the hit fantasy series is going to be released sometime next year, but other than that a specific release date is mostly guesswork. The general consensus seems to be that we'll be seeing it around April 2019, seeing as the show has tended to release its season premieres in that month, but for all we know we could be waiting until the summer.
With months to go before it's out, we won't be getting a trailer for it anytime soon - but that doesn't mean we can't get a few teases as to what's in store for us next year. Entertainment Weekly are usually the ones to get first dibs on first looks for the world's biggest TV series and movies, and this month is no different.
Their upcoming Game of Thrones exclusive is going to take a look behind the scenes of the HBO show as it nears its end, and they've revealed that the first official photo from season eight is here, right on the cover of the magazine's latest issue.
The anticipation for this season is so strong, that even this quick look was too much for some fans.
Co-executive producer Bryan Cogman spoke to Entertainment Weekly about this new season, and what viewers can expect from it in 2019:
"It’s about all of these disparate characters coming together to face a common enemy, dealing with their own past, and defining the person they want to be in the face of certain death.
"It’s an incredibly emotional haunting bittersweet final season and I think it honours very much what [author George R.R. Martin] set out to do — which is flipping this kind of story on its head."
There's also a few quotes on the production from the two stars of this cover, Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington. It’s relentless; scenes that would have been a one-day shoot five years ago are now a five-day shoot," Harington, who plays Jon Snow, said. "They want to get it right, they want to shoot everything every single way so they have options."
Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, added:
"[Camera] checks take longer, costumes are a bit better, hair and makeup a bit sharper — every choice, every conversation, every attitude, has this air of ‘this is it.’ Everything feels more intense.
Apparently, one of the battle scenes for next season took over twice as long to film as the Battle of the Bastard's 25-day shoot. “It’s brutal,” Peter Dinklage said. “It makes the Battle of the Bastards look like a theme park.”
Since we've all been anticipating how this will all turn out since 2011, there's a lot of pressure to make a thrilling and satisfying conclusion - so it makes sense that things have been more intense on set. Hopefully we'll see a little more of the upcoming season sometime soon!