Winter is coming … in a swirl of fire and ice! The first official promo clip for season 8 of Game of Thrones has been released.
“Fire and ice. #GoTS8,” the series tweeted on Thursday, December 6.
Fire and ice. #GoTS8 pic.twitter.com/ixHIsPjyhW
— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) December 6, 2018
Though the mini video runs for just 39 seconds, it’s enough to give Us chills as a mist of icy frost creeps across the screen, turning everything it touches — including statues of a wolf and a dragon — to ice.
On the other side of the screen, hot flames begin to combust, consuming everything in the fire’s path, with a statue of a lion being set ablaze.
Fans will still have to wait to see the latest footage of the show’s remaining characters, including Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and the Westerosi.
“Stop killing us. Where’s the trailer,” one fan responded to the clip, with another writing, “Wow, what a tease.”
Others analyzed the video for clues. “As expected, they are presenting both ice and fire as destructive to the realm,” one commenter theorized. “The ice starts in the north while the dragon fire begins in [King’s Landing] where the Lannister Lion is located. Interesting!”
The network first got fans geeked for the final installment of the show in November, when a teaser clip — a 75-second montage from seasons past — was released.
Clarke, 32, spoke to Us Weekly about the end of her hit series at the HBO Emmys afterparty in September. “Everybody has done a lot of crying-filming the last season, so we’re all feeling very bittersweet and existential crisis-y, the usual,” she told Us at the time.
Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister on the show, also sounded off about the end of the show’s long-running reign. “I had my last day on set back in July of this year … and it was very sad. This is not only a great TV show to be a part of, but it was an enormous family to be a part of … It was really hard to say goodbye, because I wasn’t saying goodbye to just the show. I was saying goodbye to a life over there.”
Season 8 of Game of Thrones will premiere in April 2019 on HBO.