It may be the first official day of summer, but for Game of Thrones fans it is almost winter. HBO released the highly-anticipated second trailer for the upcoming seventh season earlier today.
According to Paste, the trailer was released on the Game of Thrones official Facebook page. Within the first hour of the 2-minute teaser’s release, the video garnered over a million views.
The intense trailer begins as Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) walks away from Winterfell. As she departs her native home, Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) narrates in a voiceover saying, “Don’t fight in the North or the South. Fight every battle, everywhere, always — in your mind.” The clip then cuts to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and her dragons as they take flight to Westeros to participate in a battle with Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey).
As more intense clips from the upcoming season are shown, Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) is heard in a voiceover saying, “For centuries our families fought together against their common enemy, despite their differences. We need to do the same if we’re going to survive, because the enemy is real.”
The trailer continues to show clips of blood being shed and battles being fought as wheelchair-bound Bran Stark (Issac Hempstead Wright) embraces his new identity as the Three-Eyed Raven. Check out the trailer below.
The new trailer, as well as the first Season 7 trailer previously released in late May, are the only real sources HBO has released regarding any teasers for the upcoming season. The network has been very secretive regarding the new season and has even denied critics from viewing the season premiere in advanced screenings. Most networks give critics the opportunity to view episodes prior to its premiere, but the unconventional approach HBO is taking follows suit of the same format they used when refusing to show critics any content for Season 6 before its premiere.
While Season 8 of Game of Thrones is expected to act as its final season, fans will be happy to know that four spin-offs are currently in the works. According to Paste, four writers on the series are currently developing upcoming story’s that have the potential to keep the Game of Thrones universe alive. The four writers involved in the upcoming projects are Brian Helgeland (A Knight’s Tale), Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class), Max Borenstein (Fox’s Minority Report), and Carly Wray (AMC’s Mad Men). George R.R. Martin, the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, is currently involved in Goldman and Wray’s projects.
Game of Thrones is set to return to HBO for Season 7 on July 16 at 9/8c.