The Game of Thrones twitter account, while not necessarily dormant, has caught some attention today.
Shortly after noon Central Standard Time, the following cryptic tweet appeared online:
Winter is coming.
— Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) April 14, 2021
Within less than thirty minutes, the tweet had garnered more than 25,000 Favorites, and the replies were a mixed bag of excitement and shoulder shrugging over the debacle that was Season 8:
https://t.co/ubuQU0ycx2 pic.twitter.com/arbE5ugYAb
— NerdNexus (@NerdNexus) April 14, 2021
— Viswa (@itsViswaa) April 14, 2021
Between us I'm ALL IN on us pretending it's early 2019, season 8 hasn't happened yet, and doing the damn thing fresh. Our secret!
— Riggs (@RiggsBarstool) April 14, 2021
But what does it all mean?
Fans have known for some time that a new spin-off of the classic series is on the way. HBO’s House Of The Dragon is set to begin production this month for a 2022 debut. Could this tweet herald the start of principal photography, which was alleged to begin soon? Perhaps. Others have noted that George R.R. Martin himself has recently posted a new piece on his infamous Not A Blog page alluding to his new five-year deal with HBO. There definitely seems to be some buzz in Westeros, eh?
Fire & Blood
In the lead-up to House of the Dragon, HBO seems to be trying to build back some goodwill with the GoT faithful lately. The ongoing “MaraThrone” marathon is billed as a rewatch campaign that also has ties to various charitable causes as well – ironic, considering the, ahem, content of the shows, but a noble gesture nonetheless. Will it be enough to bring back fans though?
With an increasingly-awesome cast and the source material to guarantee some kick-ass dragon shenanigans, fans of Game of Thrones are likely in for a treat. Based on George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire & Blood, HotD will feature nearly a dozen different dragons, Targaryen-versus-Targaryen battles in the sky, and at least one of the most gnarly execution-by-dragon that viewers will ever witness. Winter may or may not be coming, but fire and blood sure as hell are.
Stay tuned to Nerd Nexus for more House of the Dragon content.