When is Game of Thrones season 8 on TV? Will Maisie Williams' character die? Plus spoilers and more

Everything you need to know about the final ever season of one of the biggest shows in the universe 
Final countdown: Game of Thrones is nearing an end
Georgia Chambers31 July 2018

Game of Thrones fans are still on the edge of their seats awaiting the final season of the hit TV show since the previous season aired in July of last year.

Viewers were left with a cliff-hanger ending where the fates of just about everyone were left hanging in the balance.

Now, several Game of Thrones stars, including Maisie Williams, 21, who plays Arya Stark, have confirmed they've wrapped up filming for season 8, which leaves us wondering when the ending chapters of this epic fantasy tale will be hitting our screens.

So, when will season 8 be released, who are the new characters and most importantly, which characters will meet their grisly ends?

It's coming: The final season will air next year
HBO

When will Game of Thrones season 8 be released?

Sadly, there's no official release date yet, but the good news is that it will be out next year.

HBO stated earlier last year that Game of Thrones would "return for its six-episode, eighth and final season in 2019."

Season 8 has the fewest number of episodes but took the longest to film, leading to speculation that multiple endings are being filmed.

Shooting for the final season, which was filmed in Croatia, Northern Ireland, and Iceland ended at the beginning of July.

Plotlines: The new season's storylines are kept under wraps
HBO

Who are the new characters?

There will be a host of new characters joining the cast, although the nature of the roles is yet to be confirmed.

Alice Nokes, 19, of Eastendersfame, has been cast as a character called Willa and Danielle Galligan will play Sarra. The only character in the books called Sarra is Sarra Frey, granddaughter of Walder Frey.

Other actors will be cast in new roles as children, guards, villagers and the like.

What will happen in the eighth season?

Hints as to the plotline have been kept very much under wraps. Sophie Turner, 22, who plays Sansa Stark, said the cast even had to refer to the eighth season using the codename "Face of Angels."

Where the last season left off, Cersei Lannister, played by Lena Headey,44, called a truce between herself, Jon Snow, played by Kit Harington, 31, and Daenerys, played by Emilia Clarke, 31, but she fools them into believing her, instead planning to leave them to deal with the undead threat. Whatever the outcome, fans are pretty certain that Cersei will meet her end.

Turner almost let slip a show secret after she got a tattoo of a direwolf with the words "the pack survives," implying that the remaining Starks would make it out alive. Turner later insisted that her inking had been misinterpreted.

Game of Thrones Season 7: LA Premiere - In pictures

1/15

Which characters will die in the eight season?

Game of Thrones is known for its characters dying left, right and centre and the season finale is sure to be no different, with HBO hinting that the final ever episode will see several characters killed off.

Fans have speculated that Cersei will be killed off by Jon or that the Night King will destroy her and King's Landing.

Maisie Williams posted a picture on Instagram of bloodied trainers with the caption 'goodbye belfast. goodbye arya. goodbye game of thrones. what a joy i've had. here's to the adventures to come #lastwomanstanding,' [sic] hinting that her character could survive the last episode.

Also thought to be one of the lucky ones to escape with their life is Bran Stark, played by Isaac Hempstead-Wright, 19, who could be the one to defeat the Night King.

Is there a season 8 trailer?

Yes - viewers have been treated to a handful of teaser trailers and whilst they don't give much away, they'll certainly give you something to look forward to in 2019.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in