HBO releases the Game of Thrones season 8 trailer, previewing the final season of the network's wildly popular high fantasy drama. Game of Thrones kicked off in 2011, adapting George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series into the cinematic television series that has since captured fans around the globe. Over the course of seven seasons, fans have followed the lives, adventures and tragedies of a whole host of characters from Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and Arya Stark to Tyrion Lannister and Brienne of Tarth. However, now Game of Thrones is wrapping up, with season 8 set to be the final year of the show.

Game of Thrones season 7 concluded in August 2017 and fans have had to wait an unusually long amount of time for season 8, with it set to finally arrive next month on HBO. Season 7 ended with an alliance between Jon and Daenerys, who prepare for the battle for all of Westeros against the Night King and his army of the undead. However, there's still the fight for the Iron Throne, too, which Cersei Lannister currently sits on after refusing to join in the Battle of Winterfell against the White Walkers. HBO has been kicking promotion for the final season into high gear recently, and that now comes to a head with the release of the official trailer.

Related: Everything We Know About The Battle of Winterfell

HBO released the Game of Thrones season 8 trailer, featuring plenty of new footage of all the fan-favorite returning characters, focusing especially on Jon, Dany, Arya, Sansa Stark, Tyrion, Cersei, Jaime Lannister, Brienne, Samwell Tarly and more. The teaser previews dark days to come in Westeros as winter has finally arrived, and the humans prepare for a deadly clash with the White Walkers. Watch the trailer below.

As revealed yesterday in EW's cover story of Game of Thrones season 8, the Battle of Winterfell is the longest cinematic battle sequence in history, topping the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Certainly, there are some visuals in the Game of Thrones trailer that are reminiscent of Two Towers, insofar as soldiers stand at the ready in a castle preparing for what may be a losing battle. In terms of Game of Thrones, the Battle of Winterfell will be the deciding fight between whether humans retain control of Westeros or fall to the Night King, so it should be an exciting one.

Though much of the trailer focuses on Winterfell, there's also footage of Cersei in King's Landing, the seat of the throne of Westeros, and hints of her Golden Company. So it's clear that Game of Thrones season 8 won't be entirely focused on Winterfell and their battle against the White Walkers. Still, it remains to be seen how all these story threads come together and what it all means for the characters fans have grown to love over the years. With season 8 set to conclude Game of Thrones once and for all, fans are no doubt eager to see how this story ends. Whether they're satisfied by that ending remains to be seen. But with little more than a month left until Game of Thrones season 8 premieres, fans don't have much longer to wait before returning to Westeros.

Next: Game Of Thrones: Why Jon Snow Deserves To Win The Iron Throne

Game of Thrones season 8 premieres Sunday April 14 at 9pm on HBO.

Source: HBO