Game of Thrones Season 7 promotion kicks into gear as cast press junket begins!

Liam Cunningham Press Junket on Carice Instagram

It’s finally here… no, not the trailer, sorry. But it is something that may herald its arrival: the moment season seven actually begins being promoted. The press junket for the season is here, with at least 11 Game of Thrones stars being interviewed.

This morning, Daria Bu, a reporter for Gazeta Metro, shared the following photograph, which shows us her schedule for the press junket, with the actors involved:

Photo: dariathebu (Instagram)
Photo: dariathebu (Instagram)

As you can see, we should expect to read and watch interviews soon with Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Pilou Asbæk (Euron Greyjoy), Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Rory McCann (the Hound), Isaac Hampstead-Wright (Bran Stark), Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger), Carice van Houten (Melisandre), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), and Daniel Portman (Podrick Payne.)

Some of these pairings are quite obvious, such as van Houten and Cunningham, who are not only good friends but play characters with a lot of history together. Then there are the Greyjoys, together. But should we expect Bran and Littlefinger to interact, perhaps? What about Grey Worm and Podrick Payne? Though there is no way to tell if there is really a lot to glean from any of these parings, they are curious nonetheless.

We were also clued in by van Houten, who uploaded this video snapshot of her day to Instagram, in which you may just glimpse Liam Cunningham attacking the camera:

Now #gameofthrones

A post shared by Carice van Houten (@leavecaricealone) on

The Game of Thrones media machine is waking up. With exactly two months until the premiere, promotion for season seven will only ramp up now. Interviews are coming, so you better get ready for incredibly vague answers to pointed questions! And hopefully a few slip ups as well. We’ll keep you informed as the interviews are published.

69 Comments

  1. I am looking forward to seeing the late night talk show appearances….

    The mega stars will be at those shows!!!!!

  2. Rory McCann and John Bradley… well, that is an interesting pairing as well !

    Maybe more “obvious” (spoilers) than the two other you listed, but still !

  3. Yes!!! I never thought the start of the press junket would make me happy, but here I am, lol.

    Arkash:
    Rory McCann and John Bradley… well, that is an interesting pairing as well !

    Yeah, that’s a pairing I never would have imagined. But should be entertaining nonetheless.

    Isaac and Aidan was another one that seemed out of left field until I remembered that their characters were sort of in the same region when last we saw them and logically their paths should cross soon-ish. But Anderson and Portman is a total head-scratcher.

  4. hmmm so……
    Interviews with cast and crew hyping up the season
    Official poster reveal
    The official trailer, did I miss anything ?
    I wonder what’s coming first, probably the interviews XD

  5. i wanted maisie and Sophie together 🙁 , why is Sophie all alone? where is Maisie?
    I know, I am sounding like a baby….I just want to see the Stark girls together….well, at least on an interview

  6. Viz:
    Oh to be a fly on the wall when this reporter called Aidan Gillen “Adrian”.

    Viz,

    Lol, I noticed that too….whoopsie

  7. Can anyone give an educated estimate on when we’ll get the trailer? I’m in the UK so I don’t really know what holidays/ TV events are coming up for you guys across the sunset sea..

  8. According to an article I read:

    * Season 1 trailer came out over 7 months prior to Season 1 airing
    * Season 2 trailer came out 112 days before the premiere
    * Season 3 trailer came out 37 days before the premiere
    * Season 4 trailer came out 84 days before the premiere
    * Season 5 trailer came out 70 days before the premiere
    * Season 6 trailer came out 47 days before the premiere

    We are currently 61 days away from the Season 7 premiere.

    In other words, no, there are no educated guesses…just guesses, lol

  9. Mr Derp,

    * Season 2 trailer came out 112 days before the premiere

    Woah, almost 4 months before the premiere? I wasn’t as obsessed with the show as I am now, so I’m sure I didn’t appreciate getting the trailer so early. I was such a sweet summer child back then.

    * Season 3 trailer came out 37 days before the premiere

    Damn, that’s just cruel. So if we get the worst case scenario this year, that means we’re still 24 days away from the trailer. *eye twitches*

  10. Carice van Houten ! We still don’t really know if her character is in season 7, do we?

  11. This endless waiting reminds me of a haiku by Ed Sanders,

    The mud elephant
    wading through the stream
    leaves no tracks

  12. Alvaricomg,

    Maisie is filming a movie and then has another two movies to film back to back. Don’t expect to see much (or any) of her during this promotion season.

  13. BunBunStark,

    Yup, I think the trailers back for season 1 and 2 were much earlier because HBO was trying to build up the hype. Once season 3 came around they simply didn’t need to do anything. The hype was already there from fans.

    The season 6 trailer was closer to the premiere date probably because of the whole Jon Snow cliffhanger.

    I have no idea when the season 7 trailer will come out, but I doubt it’ll be as close to the premiere date as season 3 was, or even season 6. My personal guess is that we’ll see the season 7 trailer in the next 2-3 weeks.

  14. Mr Derp,

    Yup, I think the trailers back for season 1 and 2 were much earlier because HBO was trying to build up the hype.

    Yeah, that makes sense.

    The season 6 trailer was closer to the premiere date probably because of the whole Jon Snow cliffhanger.

    Last year’s situation was unique, so I understood why they delayed releasing the trailer. But this year they’re not trying to keep some big secret under wraps, so I’m perplexed as to why they’re waiting so long. I guess it goes back to what you said: they’re not trying to lure viewers anymore so there’s no harm in building the anticipation with an already rabid audience. Sigh.

  15. I think, if the stars are in our favor, we’ll see the first S7 trailer before/after the airing of HBO’s biopic of Madoff.

  16. Interviews are coming, so you better get ready for incredibly vague answers to pointed questions!

    lol snorted like an idiot. Hilariously put.
    Season 7 is coming!

  17. Boojam:
    Carice van Houten ! We still don’t really know if her character is in season 7, do we?

    We certainly don’t see or hear much out of or about her do we.

    I don’t recall her even being spotted at filming locations. Was she? In some of those distant pap shots of exterior Dragonstone scenes there was some guessing that one of the figures could have been her but nothing definitive. There weren’t any clear shots of her like the others that would be expected, and she’d be out of place there anyway. I think we decided she wasn’t there. It would seem that IF she’s in the season it would have to be roaming around the Riverlands or southern areas of The North. Not much or any of that sort of stuff was captured if/when filmed, like BwoB stuff and the like.
  18. If I were HBO I’d wait until about the middle of June for just about everything and then just blitz the hell out of the last 3-4 weeks leading to the premiere. Make all the non-GoT watchers start saying, “Geez, everywhere I look everything is about Game of Thrones!!”

  19. Clob,

    There was a photo of somebody seemingly wearing a red cloak at one of the Dragonstone filming sites, I believe, but it couldn’t have been Carice because she was in Paris (I think) at the time. Some speculated that it was meant to be a filming double for her in exterior shots.

    Carice’s presence at the junket is notable in that it would confirm she is in Season 7, which was not terribly clear from the filming schedule itself, where I don’t think we ever got any clear indicators she was ever on set.

  20. “This season will be bigger and better!” x 11

    I’m most excited about what Jeb Bradley, Adrian Gillen, & Mr. Poptman have to say. In the past, joint interviews were done by people who had scenes together.

  21. I notice we always tend to get the same people doing promotion, we never really get Kit, Emilia, Peter, Lena and Nikolaj anymore like they used to do Comic-Con etc in first few seasons. I’m hoping they do more promotion for the final season as it will be their last chance to all do it together.

    Can’t wait until we hear more stuff about the interviews, hopefully we get something we haven’t heared before.

  22. We all know what this means…

    Within the next few weeks we will get our first real teaser with actual GOT Season 7 footage, and maybe, just maybe a .50 second clip of Drogon being Drogon…

    CANT WAIT!!!!

  23. Jack Bauer 24,

    I agree. They have been building the hype for the last season of The Leftovers so much that I don’t think they would distract the audience with GOT just yet.

  24. They better promote the heck out of it during San Diego Comic Con, it lands the week after the first episode of season 7.

    Does anyone know when Sophie starts filming Dark Phoenix? She’ll have a busy summer filming that, promoting Thrones and then some more filming.

  25. Hmmm… Are the pairings random, or is there supposed to be some sort of logic to them? If the latter, I would venture the following:

    -Pilou Asbæk and Gemma Whelan: Both Greyjoys, now mortal enemies (I know, no duh).
    -John Bradley and Rory McCann: Um, will the Hound finally have a Valyrian sword to wield? Also: Early in their respective trajectories, they both chose to protect and/or align themselves with the Starks, despite being born into southern families allied with other great houses.
    -Isaac Hampstead-Wright and Aidan Gillen: I definitely expect some, er, differences of opinion to arise between their characters about what is best for whom. I wouldn’t put it past Littlefinger to decide that Bran’s all-seeing ways are a bit too much of a threat to whatever shaky influence he himself holds. I’ll chalk this one up to, they’re about to encounter each other at Winterfell and it probably isn’t going to be pretty.
    -Carice van Houten and Liam Cunningham: Pretty obvious, like the Greyjoys; lots of shared history here.
    -Jacob Anderson and Daniel Portman: This one isn’t really obvious, but both men are in the service of very strong, independent women who have carved paths unexpected of them. In addition, Pod once served the man who is now Daenerys’s Hand of the Queen.

  26. Alfie,

    When Dark Phoenix was first announced it was said to start filming around June, now they say it’s Summer which is June, July, August in the US.
    Liam Cunningham said S8 of GOT is meant to start filming around September so it’s cutting it quite close for Sophie, especially since the movie is named after her character I imagine she’ll be filming the most. I have no idea how long XMen movies take to film, I know it was stated the new Avengers film is gonna take a year to film.
    Though then again Sophie might not have that large of a role in the final season of GOT, I can’t see Sansa doing a lot in what I imagine will be the season about fighting the White Walkers. I guess we’ll see.

  27. Sean C.,

    There was a photo of somebody seemingly wearing a red cloak at one of the Dragonstone filming sites, I believe, but it couldn’t have been Carice because she was in Paris (I think) at the time. Some speculated that it was meant to be a filming double for her in exterior shots.

    I’m hoping it’s Kinvara, who so eerily freaked out Varys in the Great Pyramid of Meereen, or the Red Priestess who didn’t seem very pleased by Tyrion’s sarcastic remarks on the Long Bridge, mostly because both actresses were terrific in their roles.

  28. Sophie Turner ugh! The last person I want to hear from for more of the same nonsense.

    Isaac and Aidan will be interesting.

    Alfie:
    They better promote the heck out of it during San Diego Comic Con, it lands the week after the first episode of season 7.

    Comic Con has become rather boring with none of the main cast turning up.

  29. Mel,

    GOT has precedence, contractually, so there’s no reason to worry about overlap (which, in any event, GOT films for several months).

    Maisie’s New Mutants will also be filming during the summer, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she and Sophie are both a bit scarce as far as promoting the show goes this time around.

  30. SerNoName,

    This is what i was talking about when i said people are starting to hate the actors just because they dislike the character,you know what i hope they put Sophie all over the promotional material just because it makes you mad .

  31. And I hope Sansa dies within the first three episodes.

    I think those pairs of actors make a lot of sense! Bran being not in the wilderness/in a tree is going to be really interesting. I think Littlefinger is way out of his element now; the north is way too unpredictable.

    Can’t wait for the trailer!

  32. Rygritte:
    “This season will be bigger and better!” x 11

    I’m most excited about what Jeb Bradley, Adrian Gillen, & Mr. Poptman have to say. In the past, joint interviews were done by people who had scenes together.

    Lol. ADRIAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!

  33. Genghis Khan,

    Maybe they do dislike the actor as well? It is possible. Nobody gels with everybody they encounter. There’s no rule written anywhere that we must like all the actors in this show, although maybe an unspoken one on the boards 🙂

  34. Gina:
    Can’t wait for the trailer!

    Me neither. I say we go hang in a dark corner of the bar with Genghis Khan and a very large supply of fermented mare’s milk, because they’re hell-bent on vexing us with endless suspense.

  35. Clob,

    I guess this confirms it. The one we saw in one of the leaked photos posted here few months ago is indeed melissandre.

  36. Catspaw Assassin,

    Rila Fukushima was the actress who played the red priestess on the long bridge in Volantis who gave Tyrion the long penetrating look. I really hope her time on the show wasn’t limited to that one scene, and that she’ll be back.

    I had seen her before and really her in what I think was titled “The Wolverine” (Wolverine goes to Japan). She played Hugh Jackman’s kickass martial arts partner. I thought she stole the show.

  37. Ten Bears,

    She did steal the show!

    I’ll be seriously peeved if we don’t see the red priestesses in this upcoming season, and hell, I’m a straight woman.

    In all seriousness, though… I’m really looking forward to having more insight into R’hllor than what we’ve gotten so far through Melisandre “Fire Is Cleansing” of Asshai and Thoros “I Don’t Know How I Do It” of Myr.

  38. Arkash:
    Rory McCann and John Bradley… well, that is an interesting pairing as well !

    Maybe more “obvious” (spoilers) than the two other you listed, but still !

    Not sure what you mean by “more ‘obvious’ (spoilers)”, but I don’t want to know.

    However, based on the promo photos and eagle-eyed fans’ deciphering what Gilly and Sam are reading, pairing John Bradley and Rory McGann could be a subtle nod to (my ultra-thick tinfoil prediction) Azor Ahai aka The Warrior of Light = Sandor. 💫

  39. wtf, sophie and aidan should be interviewed together! i’m surprised nobody thought of that yet.

  40. I looked up Gazeta Metro and I noticed it was all in a foreign language so I hope someone can translate it for us.

  41. Catspaw Assassin: I’m hoping it’s Kinvara, who so eerily freaked out Varys in the Great Pyramid of Meereen, or the Red Priestess who didn’t seem very pleased by Tyrion’s sarcastic remarks on the Long Bridge, mostly because both actresses were terrific in their roles.

    Notes:
    1)I remember a report that Ania Bukstein was not on set for S6. I don’t remember seeing a definitive source for this or if Ania had been asked. I note the link above.
    2) Gemma Whelan was on the The Graham Norton Show last month and seemed let slip that she was in season 8, then walked that back, sort of, that is intriguing.

  42. Paul Kaye and Richard Dormer are (or must be) in S7.
    We had a report of Kayne and Dormer were in Belfast , but no one seemed to have gotten and ‘on the town pic’ of them.
    Dormer is particularity invisible,off set,for ever season he has been in.

  43. Boojam,

    I really hope that is true about Gemma, the pictures on this site about (WOTW spoilers)

    when we saw Yara roughed up in chains as Euron’s prisoner in Kings Landing

    (leaked spoilers)

    When we heard Yara would be taken prisoner along with the sandsnakes, and the sandsnakes along with Elia would be executed. Nothing was said about Yara’s fate however. There is a good chance Yara will at least be tortured but there is also a chance she could be rescued or traded perhaps by Dany/Theon

    Thank you for giving me hope, the thought of Yara not dying is a good one.

  44. To be honest, I wish there was no trailer for this season and I blame myself for clicking too much on spoilers (hopefully I haven’t seen them all)

    Sam & Rory !!!

    On a side note, 60 days until the premiere so it’s perfect time for One episode per day

  45. Genghis Khan,

    Well sometimes somebody can be irritating to a person – myself, I don’t have a problem with Sophie and never have had – or with Emilia. There’s nobody in GoT that rubs me up the wrong way though there are some actors in other programmes I haven’t been able to take to though I won’t mention any names.

    Off topic, has anybody in the UK been watching “Little Boy Blue”? I thought it was good albeit very harrowing. I read that the actors who played the parents of the little boy who was shot were Irish – they did convincing English (and Liverpudlian at that) accents (my father’s side of the family were from Liverpool).

  46. Dame of Mercia,

    To me,having a grudge against someone requires for that person to do something offensive or insulting,like being a racist,sexist or in general being a hateful or spiteful human being,but i don’t think any of the actors in GOT qualify in that spectrum,it’s fine if you don’t care about an actor’s portrayal or their character,but some people take it way too far for no reason . This place is pretty civil about it compared to some other subreddits where it makes you want to vomit at how disgusting some people are .

  47. Just upgraded to Sky HD for the new series and am treating myself to a tablet to watch the 1st episode as I’m on hols. Can’t wait!!

  48. Genghis Khan,

    I would actually like Sansa if it wasn’t for Sophie’s terrible acting and weird condescending inflection. Oh and that little lip parting thing she does every 5 minutes.

  49. I really should stay out of a Sansa topic for once because I’ve written plenty in the past on my feelings of Sophie’s performance. I feel bad after writing about it but it doesn’t change how I view it, which I won’t get into. Still, I have to say that it doesn’t mean I dislike Sophie as a person. I do think she’s sounded a bit off-base quite a bit with her interpretations of the story, but that doesn’t mean I hate her. She seems like a fine and fun person and the cast and crew like her. There are other despicable characters in the story portrayed by excellent actors that I don’t dislike because the character does bad things.

    I also have never “hated” book-Sansa. Some of her actions were frustrating and her chapters weren’t my favorite to read so she’s nowhere near a favorite character of mine. It’s been more of a neutral to don’t-care-for level about her. What I’m not sure of yet is how George WANTS us to feel about Sansa. He hasn’t done anything with her that springs her or plummets her in either direction in my opinion. She’s just kind of “there” witnessing things around her. What I do know is that Sophie’s portrayal/performance of Sansa has made me dislike the character more. With a different actress I think it’s possible that could have been the opposite, but again, I’ll refrain from digging back into that.

    D&D know that a lot of people don’t like Sansa and that so many book readers hate Sansa. They mentioned it during the SXSW panel earlier this year. One exact quote from David was, “Why do people love (Maisie so much and, and… I mean) Arya so much and despise Sansa so much? I don’t get it.” He goes on to try to explain why he thinks that is and why the two of them (D&D) kind of like her (because she’s more of a regular person, an ordinary teen). Since they do like her I guess that’s one reason why they gave her the ‘stolen’ storyline. The funny thing is that from some time during her captivity by Ramsay until arriving at Castle Black was the about the best I’ve liked Sophie as Sansa. That went away again…

  50. Clob,

    Ok,at least you explained your reasoning far better than the person that i just mentioned above,i can respect that .

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