Game Of Thrones Season 9 Release Date

[Vanya Lamunyon]

Seton the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, Game of Thrones has a large ensemble cast and follows several story arcs throughout the course of the show. The first major arc concerns the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros through a web of political conflicts among the noble families either vying to claim the throne or fighting for independence from whomever sits on it. The second major arc focuses on the last descendant of the realm's deposed ruling dynasty, who has been exiled to Essos and is plotting to return and reclaim the throne. The third follows the Night's Watch, a military order defending the realm against threats from beyond Westeros's northern border.

Game of Thrones is roughly based on the storylines of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R. R. Martin, set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the continent of Essos.[5][6] The series follows several simultaneous plot- lines.[7] The first story arc follows a war of succession among competing claimants for control of the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, with other noble families fighting for independence from the throne. The second concerns the actions of the exiled scion to reclaim the throne; the third chronicles the threat, of the impending winter, as well as the legendary creatures and fierce peoples of the North.[8]

Game of Thrones has an ensemble cast which has been estimated to be the largest on television.[9] In 2014, several actors' contracts were renegotiated to include a seventh-season option.[10] By the final season, five of the main cast members made $1 million per episode, making them among the highest paid television performers.[11][12]

Others associated with House Stark include Ned's ward Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), Ned's vassal Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), and Roose's illegitimate son, Ramsay Snow (Iwan Rheon). Robb accepts help from the healer Talisa Maegyr (Oona Chaplin), while elsewhere, Arya befriends blacksmith's apprentice Gendry Rivers (Joe Dempsie) and assassin Jaqen H'ghar (Tom Wlaschiha). In the Stormlands, the tall warrior Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) is introduced to Catelyn.

In King's Landing, Ned's best friend, King Robert I Baratheon (Mark Addy), shares a loveless political marriage with Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). Her younger twin brother, Ser Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), serves on the Kingsguard while their younger brother Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) is attended by his mistress Shae (Sibel Kekilli) and mercenary Bronn (Jerome Flynn). Cersei's father is Tywin (Charles Dance), head of House Lannister and the richest man in Westeros. Cersei has two sons: Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) and Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman). Joffrey is guarded by the scar-faced warrior Sandor "The Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann).[14]

The king's Small Council includes his treasurer, Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Aidan Gillen), and his spymaster, Varys (Conleth Hill). In Dragonstone, Robert's younger brother, Stannis (Stephen Dillane), is advised by foreign priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and former smuggler Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham). In the Reach, the Tyrell family is led by matriarch Olenna (Diana Rigg) and represented at court by her granddaughter Margaery (Natalie Dormer). The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) is given power as a religious leader, while, in Dorne, the warrior Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) seeks vengeance against the Lannisters.[13]

Across the Narrow Sea in Pentos, siblings Viserys Targaryen (Harry Lloyd) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) (colloquially referred to as "Dany") are in exile, with the former plotting to reclaim his father's throne. Daenerys is forced into marrying Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), a leader of the nomadic Dothraki. Her retinue eventually comes to include the exiled knight Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), her aide Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), mercenary Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman), and elite soldier Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson).[13]

Both television critics and historians have praised the series for what was perceived as a sort of medieval realism.[15][16][17] George R. R. Martin set out to make the story feel more like historical fiction than contemporary fantasy, with less emphasis on magic and sorcery and more on battles, political intrigue, and the characters, believing that magic should be used moderately in the epic fantasy genre.[18][19][20] Martin said, "The true horrors of human history derive not from orcs and Dark Lords, but from ourselves".[21] Academics have classified the series as neo-medieval, which focuses on overlapping medieval history and popular fantasy.[22][23][24] A common theme in the fantasy genre is the battle between good and evil, which Martin says does not mirror the real world.[25] In the series, political leaders have mostly been portrayed negatively, as they usually disregard the well-being of the common people and are guided in their decisions by selfish reasons. Few possible exceptions include Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister, who have shown concern about the populace. Still, their methods or commitment to the cause have been criticized.[26] Martin explores the relationship between good and evil through the questions of redemption and character change.[27] Unlike in many other fantasies, the series allows the audience to view different characters from their perspective.[20][28]

In early seasons, under the influence of the A Song of Ice and Fire books, main characters were regularly killed off, and this was credited with developing tension among viewers.[29] Martin stated in an interview that he wanted to depict war and violence in a realistic way, which sometimes mean the hero or main characters could be injured or killed.[30] In later seasons, critics pointed out that certain characters had developed "plot armor" to survive in unlikely circumstances and attributed this to Game of Thrones deviating from the novels to become more of a traditional television series.[29] In a 2012 study, out of 40 recent television drama shows, Game of Thrones ranked second in deaths per episode, averaging 14.[31] A scientific study conducted in 2018 stated that about 60% of the major characters died as a result of violence and war.[32]

Although the series's first season closely follows the events of the first novel, there were significant changes made for later seasons. According to Benioff, the TV adaptation is "about adapting the series as a whole and following the map George laid out for us and hitting the major milestones, but not necessarily each of the stops along the way".[33] Aspects of the novels' plots and their adaptations are based upon settings, characters, and events in European history.[34] Most of Westeros is reminiscent of high medieval Europe, from its geography and castles to its cultures, the feudal system, palace intrigues, and the knights' tournaments.[35][36] Like medieval Europe, most of the houses in the series use the patriarchal system of power.[37] The series also includes elements of gothic fiction, including torture tropes.[38]

The A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels was popular before Game of Thrones.[42] The series has sold more than 90 million copies worldwide with the novels being translated into 45 different languages.[43][44] George R. R. Martin received multiple fantasy writing awards and nominations, including a World Fantasy Award and multiple Locus Awards, for the series.[45] Writing for Time magazine in 2005 after the release of A Feast for Crows, journalist Lev Grossman called Martin the "American Tolkien", stating he is a "major force for evolution in fantasy".[46]

In January 2006, David Benioff had a telephone conversation with Martin's literary agent about the books he represented. Having been a fan of fantasy fiction when he was younger, he became interested in A Song of Ice and Fire, which he had not read. The literary agent sent Benioff the series's first four books.[47] Benioff read a few hundred pages of the first novel, A Game of Thrones, shared his enthusiasm with D. B. Weiss, and suggested that they adapt Martin's novels into a television series; Weiss finished the first novel in "maybe 36 hours".[48] They pitched the series to HBO after a five-hour meeting with Martin (himself a veteran screenwriter) in a restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard. According to Benioff, they won Martin over by knowing the answer to his question, "Who is Jon Snow's mother?"[49]

I had worked in Hollywood myself for about 10 years, from the late '80s to the '90s. I'd been on the staff of The Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast. All of my first drafts tended to be too big or too expensive. I always hated the process of having to cut. I said, 'I'm sick of this, I'm going to write something that's as big as I want it to be, and it's going to have a cast of characters that go into the thousands, and I'm going to have huge castles, and battles, and dragons.'

Before being approached by Benioff and Weiss, Martin already had meetings with other scriptwriters, most of whom wanted to adapt the series as a feature film. Martin, however, deemed it "unfilmable", saying that the size of one of his novels is as long as The Lord of the Rings, which had been adapted as three feature films.[50] Benioff agreed it would be impossible to turn the novels into a feature film as their scale is too big for a feature film, and dozens of characters would have to be discarded. Benioff added, "a fantasy movie of this scope, financed by a major studio, would almost certainly need a PG-13 rating. That means no sex, no blood, no profanity. Fuck that."[20] Martin was pleased with the suggestion that they adapt it as an HBO series, saying that he "never imagined it anywhere else".[51]

Nina Gold and Robert Sterne were the series' primary casting directors.[66] Through a process of auditions and readings, the main cast was assembled. The only exceptions were Peter Dinklage and Sean Bean, whom the writers wanted from the start; they were announced as joining the pilot in 2009.[67][68] Other actors signed for the pilot were Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon, Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen, and Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon.[68] According to Benioff and Weiss, Addy was the easiest actor to cast for the series because of his audition performance.[69] Some characters in the pilot were recast for the first season. The role of Catelyn Stark was played initially by Jennifer Ehle, but the role was recast with Michelle Fairley.[70] The character of Daenerys Targaryen was also recast, with Emilia Clarke replacing Tamzin Merchant.[71] The rest of the first season's cast was selected in the second half of 2009.[72]

3a8082e126