In years past, this time of year is when fans would be getting ready for a new season of HBO’sGame of Thrones, which had traditionally debuted in either April or late March.Game of ThronesSeason 7 is a bit different though, with production pushed from the summer of 2016 to the fall, due to the arrival of winter in Westeros, which in turn pushed the season premiere to Sunday, July 16. Fans are still reeling from the newGame of Thrones Season 7 trailerreleased last week, and while we wait for the next trailer, HBO has debuted three new promo videos which feature a number of the network’s characters, including some fromGame of Thronesin their new costumes, looking read for winter.
HBOdebuted these three videos on their YouTube channel earlier today, which feature several of the network’s stars, essentially poking fun at the network’s opening video that includes some video static and the now-iconic “Ahh” that plays before every HBO show. The first video featuresLast Week TonighthostJohn Oliverdiscussing the “Ahh,” along with a bunch of other HBO stars, but in the middle of the video, a number ofGame of Thronescharacters try their hand at the “Ahh.” This portion of the video includesLena Headey(Cersei Lannister),Kit Harington(Jon Snow),Peter Dinklage(Tyrion Lannister),Gwendoline Christie(Brienne of Tarth),Isaac Hempstead Wright(Bran Stark),Kristofer Hivju, (Tormund Giantsbane),Nathalie Emmanuel(Missandei), Sandor “The Hound” Clegane (Rory McCann), Lord Varys (Conleth Hill),Liam Cunningham(Davos Seaworth),Alfie Allen(Theon Greyjoy),Sophie Turner(Sansa Stark),Maisie Williams(Arya Stark),Emilia Clarke(Daenerys Targaryen) andNikolaj Coster-Waldau(Jamie Lannister), along with the surprise addition ofKristian Nairnas the beloved yet deceased character Hodor. This doesn’t necessarily mean Hodor will return at some point in Season 7, but since there is no story details confirmed yet, anything is possible.
The second and third videos only feature recycled footage from the first, which also featureGirlsstarAllison Williams,Westworld’sThandie Newton,Silicon Valley’sMartin Starr,Kumail NanjianiandT.J. Miller,BallersstarsDwayne JohnsonandRob Corddry,Veep’sJulia Louis-DreyfusandTony Hale,The Leftovers’Justin Theroux,DivorcestarSarah Jessica Parker,High Maintenance’sBen Sinclair,Insecurestar/creatorIssa Raeand many more. Unfortunately, it isn’t known when the network plans on releasing more actual footage fromGame of Thrones, but with theGame of Thrones Season 7 premiere dategetting closer and closer, hopefully we’ll get more footage and details about the season soon.
Unlike the first six seasons, which all spanned 10 episodes apiece, Season 7 will only span seven episodes, with the eighth and final season recently confirmed to feature just six episodes to close out this epic fantasy series. The Season 6 finale brought all of the major characters back to Westeros, as they will all vie for control of the Iron Throne.Daenerys Targaryenwas seen setting sail with her massive fleet to Westeros, with the help of Dorne, along with Theon (Alfie Allen) and Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan), to stake her claim to the Iron Throne. The Season 6 finale also confirmed a long-held fan theory that Jon Snow, who was also named King in the North in the Season 6 finale, is not the bastard son of the late Ned Stark (Sean Bean), but he’s actually the son of Ned’s sister Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, which gives him a very strong claim to the Iron Throne.
This season will also likely reunite all of the surviving Stark children. After spending the past two seasons in Braavos,Arya Stark(Maisie Williams) had finally returned home as well, where she was seen using her skills learned at the House of Black and White to kill one of the nefarious men on her infamous kill list, Walder Frey (David Bradley), the man responsible for orchestrating the Red Wedding in Season 3. Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) was also dropped off just before The Wall by the long-missing Benjen Stark (Joseph Mawle), with Bran’s greensight vision revealing Jon Snow’s true parentage. With Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Jon Snow regaining control of Winterfell, it’s possible that both Arya Stark and Bran Stark will finally return home and reunite with their siblings, but we’ll find out for sure when the new season premieres Sunday, July 16 at 9 PM ET on HBO. Until then, take a look at these humorous HBO videos featuring the cast ofGame of Thronesand other HBO stars.
