They've been sworn to secrecy but the cast of Game of Thrones have given away a few bits of information about the final season. Photo / Supplied
The final series of fantasy drama Game of Thrones may not reach us until next year, but that hasn't slowed the constant furor that surrounds the show.
The final series of the epic saga will see the various houses of Westeros unite to fight the threat of the army of the undead, the White Walkers, and will supposedly reveal who will rule the Kingdom and take their seat on the Iron Throne.
Who will live? Who will die? Who will ride the dragons? Will Jon Snow ever crack a smile? Obviously the cast are sworn to secrecy, but here's everything they've revealed so far:
Maisie Williams
Maisie Williams, who plays orphaned princess turned deadly assassin Arya Stark, is the latest Game of Thrones cast member to get the rumour mill turning. The star posted a picture of trainers covered in blood on her Instagram with a caption including the hashtag, "last woman standing".
Some fans believe that Williams may be referring to being the last of the lead female characters to wrap filming, but others believe she may secretly be giving away hints about the final series. Theories about the snap range from beliefs that the blood could be the princess' own, or the blood of her final victim before taking the Iron Throne.
Of course, we are doubtful that Williams would give away any potential plot secrets, as she has been notoriously tight-lipped in interviews this year. Williams vaguely told The Telegraph Magazine: "I think people are gonna like it."
Although earlier this year she did suggest the series may prove divisive, as in an interview with RadioTimes she said: "It's either going to be everything that everyone dreamed of or it's going to be disappointing...It depends what side of the fence you sit on because there's definitely going to be that divide. It depends what people want from the final season. I love it, but you never know."
The actress has also shot down rumours being spread by other cast members; when appearing on Jimmy Kimmel, Live! she seemed to rebuff Emilia Clarke's claims that multiple endings had been filmed, she said: "I heard this and I thought, 'I don't think we've got the budget to shoot lots of different endings.'"
Sophie Turner
In the final series, Sophie Turner will reprise her role as Lady Sansa Stark, a character fans have seen grow from a docile princess into a ruthless strategist.
As reported by The Telegraph, Turner revealed that the final series would be "bloodier", "emotionally torturous" and full of "tension". "Everyone is coming together to fight the impending doom," she said. "There's a lot of tension between these little groups, battling for what they think is right. It's Game of Thrones, so it's going to be bloodier and more death and more emotionally torturous than all the years before."
Kit Harington
Harington, who plays Jon Snow, once known as the bastard son of the executed Ned Stark and now the King of the North, said that he cried when reading the final episode in an appearance on the The One Show in October 2017:
"We had the read-through last week, in fact, so I know everything now, I cried at the end! It wasn't anything particular that happens. You have to remember, I've done eight years of it. I think, no-one really cares about it more than us.
"I get a bit weepy thinking about it. It's going to be a strange year saying goodbye to everyone and having last scenes with this person and that person. Not only you're attached to it, loads of people around the world are attached to it."
While Harington may not mean to give away any plot details, his famous long locks may let him down. The stars' hair has been the focus of much attention after he professed that he would cut his hair short when filming ceased. So now many believe that the star may survive the series because he was spotted at the wrap party with his long locks intact, suggesting that filming might not be over, and that Snow may end up on the Iron Throne.
Emilia Clarke
Late last year, Emilia Clarke, who plays the dragon-wielding Queen Daenerys, told The Telegraph that multiple endings were being filmed, although this has now been questioned by her co-star Maisie Williams.
Clarke said: "They've written a number of different endings. So none of the cast know what the actual ending is. If there's ever a leak of any kind, don't believe it because it's probably not true."
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But, in similar fashion to Williams, Clarke did suggest that the final series may end up being surprisingly divisive. She told Australian newspaper, The Herald Sun: "People will scream and people will say, 'That's exactly what I wanted',
"And some people will go, 'Huh?' – my mum, probably."
Nathalie Emmanuel
Nathalie Emmanuel, Queen Daenerys' trusted aide Missandei in the series, said that the final series "will not be rushed" when questioned by Metro: "They've taken the exact number of hours to tell the story they want to tell and it will be brilliant.
[The show's bosses] will never leave the fans unsatisfied...it will go over and above the fans expectations as they do every season."
Iain Glen
Iain Glen, who plays Sir Jorah Mormont, an exiled mercenary who is helplessly in love with Queen Daenerys, told the Indian Express that the script is "rather brilliant", as he admitted "I am a bit of a fan of the series as well, and it satiated my expectation and hopes."
In similar fashion to co-stars Williams and Clarke, he did admit that it will be difficult for the final series to please all viewers: "With something this big like Game of Thrones, you cannot please everyone...All I can say is that we will be doing what we have done before and the writers have written great episodes. They have had a great strike rate up to now and I am sure that will continue."
Joe Dempsie
Joe Dempsie, who stars as Gendry the unacknowledged illegitimate son of the former King Robert Baratheon, told Metro: "I've not envied [showrunners] David Benioff and Dan Weiss the task of having to find a way to bring this phenomenon to a conclusion that is both satisfying for the majority of the fans but also unpredictable."
"I'm sure David and Dan don't pay too much attention to people's theories and speculation there is all over the internet, but it would be a bit of an anti-climax if a well popularised theory turned out to be the way it ended."
"There's many pitfalls and I think they really have achieved that with this. It's an ending I don't think many people will be expecting and I think, on reflection, people will really, really enjoy. That's if I know the ending at all," he joked.
Dempsie's comments may come as a surprise to some, as Gendry is a character with a claim to the Iron Throne but few have so far believed he may be in with a genuine chance. Perhaps his luck could change.
The latest entertainment news from NZ Herald Chief Lifestyle and Entertainment Reporter, Jenni Mortimer.