The seasons are always changing, but Game of Thrones fans know that everything is just
one Long Winter until the final season of the series arrives in 2019.
Until the show returns to the air, though, all we can really do is speculate.
Here are all the rumors about Game of Thrones' final season.
A bloody end for Arya
Maisie Williams, who plays Arya, posted a picture to her Instagram of her sneakers covered
in blood, on her last day of shooting.
That seems to imply that her final scene will involve some seriously bloody combat.
But will Arya survive?
"What do we say to the god of death?"
"Not today."
Either way, she says the final filming for her character took place in Belfast, where
the scenes in Winterfell and the North are shot.
Based on this geotag clue alone, it seems like however her bloody story ends, it'll
be in the North.
Brother from another mother
Lena Headey also dropped a sneaky reference to season 8 on her own Instagram after snapping
a pic with her onscreen brothers Peter Dinklage and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau captioned, "Congratulations
to my brothers (literally) from other mothers.
I'm a lucky lucky sista to these Mistas."
Is Headey insinuating that Tyrion's parentage is a bit more complicated than it seems?
Multiple sources, including the Independent, have speculated that Tyrion is actually the
bastard son of Joanna Lannister and Aerys Targaryen - making him Daenerys' half-brother.
Of course, Headey uses the word "mothers," not father, so maybe Headey is just making
a cute Instagram post.
Sansa in charge
When we first catch up with Sansa in season 8, she's going to be ruling the roost at Winterfell
while Jon is away.
However, in an interview with Digital Spy, actress Sophie Turner mentioned that she wrapped
shooting in Spain.
That's where Dragonstone and the Dragonpit are filmed, which means that although Sansa
might be running Winterfell at the start of the season, she's going to wind up heading
south at some point.
In addition, Watchers on the Wall reports that filming at the Roman ruins of Itálica
in Spain a.k.a. the Dragonpit were scheduled for over four weeks, hinting that the location
will be of far greater importance in season 8.
This news feeds into the abundance of rumors that Sansa is going to come away the ultimate
winner of the Game of Thrones.
"Now I'm sure cutting off heads is very satisfying, but that's not the way you get people to work
together."
Some fans have even theorized that she might wind up marrying Gendry and become the Queen
of the Seven Kingdoms.
Give these boys a hand
In an interview with WRadio at Bogota Comic-Con, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau revealed that Jaime
will be interacting with Liam Cunningham's Davos for the first time this season.
Since Davos is currently serving as Jon Snow's hand, the news of their impending interactions
confirms the theory that Jaime is going to make it all the way North to team up with
Jon and Daenerys.
Return of the bear queen
Played by Bella Ramsey, Lyanna Mormont was instrumental in installing Jon Snow as King
in the North in season 6.
"Ned Stark's blood runs through his veins.
He's my king, from this day until his last day."
According to the Watchers on the Wall, Ramsey was spotted on set in Belfast, implying that
she's still involved in the game.
However, will she be withdrawing her support once she learns that her King has bent the
knee to a foreign queen?
Biggest battle ever
In a now-deleted Instagram post, assistant director Jonathan Quinlan captioned a thank-you
note to the crew: "55 consecutive nights.
11 weeks.
3 locations.
You'll never again see anything like it."
Quinlan's thank-you note mentioned that the crew had been working tirelessly in Northern
Ireland.
Based on the show's previous filming locations, it's safe to assume that this record-breaking
massive battle will take place in the North, and it's likely to be the final battle against
the Night King.
Ending at King's Landing
Rumors from The Dubrovnik Times indicate that the last scene of the entire series may very
well take place at King's Landing.
Nothing is official, of course, but wouldn't the home of the Iron Throne be a fitting location
to end the series all about the fight for said seat of power?
The missing Mountain
Interviewed in January 2018, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson who plays Ser Gregor "the Mountain"
Clegane, wasn't all that forthcoming about his involvement in season 8.
This led fans to speculate over whether this meant Björnsson wouldn't be on set for long.
Will the Mountain finally fall to The Hound in the long-awaited battle fans have been
clamoring for?
Or maybe Arya will finally manage to cross his name off her list?
Plenty of death
Get ready to say goodbye to at least some of your favorites.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, HBO senior VP Francesca Orsi explained that
the final moments of Game of Thrones are going to spell doom for multiple characters.
Talking about the final table read with the entire cast, she said,
"None of the cast had received the scripts prior, and one by one they started to fall
down to their deaths.
By the end, the last few words on the final script, the tears just started falling down."
"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.
There is no middle ground."