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GAME OF THRONES Creators Confirm How Much More We’re Getting

The night is dark and full of, well, far fewer episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones than we would selfishly like. In a new interview, co-creators and showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have confirmed what has recently been rumored to be the case: we’re only getting a total of 73 – 75 hours of A Song of Ice and Fire. And with (roughly) 60 of those hours already claimed, we’re talking 13 to 15 more episodes of the TV show, tops. Cue an entire world filled with tiny violins, playing the saddest dirge you’ve ever heard, ushering in a bittersweet dream of spring.

(Nerdist has reached out to HBO for confirmation and will update the story as more information becomes available.)

Speaking with Deadline about the epic season six finale, “The Winds of Winter,” Benioff and Weiss spoke at length about the capstone episode—and it’s all worth a read, voracious as you are, Thrones fans—but it was the last paragraph that got us especially intrigued, with the duo discussing not one more season, but two (something HBO has made no secret of wanting for years now, but wasn’t 100% part of the season-per-book plan that Benioff and Weiss put forth at the start).

“It’s two more seasons we’re talking about,” explained Benioff. “From pretty close to the beginning, we talked about doing this in 70-75 hours, and that’s what we’ll end up with. Call it 73 for now.”

And while that make some Thrones fans deeply upset, as their hope for a never-ending Westerosi universe are shattered, it ultimately makes a lot of sense. “We’ve known the end for quite some time and we’re hurtling towards it. Those last images from the show that aired last night showed that. Daenerys is finally coming back to Westeros; Jon Snow is king of the North and Cersei is sitting on the Iron Throne. And we know the Night King is up there, waiting for all of them. The pieces are on the board now. Some of the pieces have been removed from the board and we are heading toward the end game.”

He also added, astutely, that this has never been about not ending: “It’s not supposed to be an ongoing show, where every season it’s trying to figure out new story lines. We wanted it to be one giant story, without padding it out to add an extra 10 hours, or because people are still watching it. We wanted to something where, if people watched it end to end, it would make sense as one continuous story.”

So there you have it, folks: Game of Thrones is coming to an end after season eight. What do you think of the news? Happy to see it end with dignity and in the way the showrunners intended (like we are)? Let us know in the comments below.

And while we’re here, here’s the 12 things you may have missed in “The Winds of Winter”:

Images: HBO

Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor, creator/co-host of Fangirling, and resident Khaleesi of House Nerdist. Find her on Twitter but only if you really want to because like, I’m not your boss.

STAR TREK’s Alternate Movie Universe Gets an Official Name

Following the 10th Star Trek movie–2002’s beyond bleak Star Trek: Nemesis–the perennial Paramount Pictures franchise needed a fresh set of eyes, some new ideas, and a new cast. For better or worse, the J.J. Abrams 2009 film did those things and turned back the clock on Trek‘s timeline without re-writing what had come before. In fact, they made their own splinter universe and timeline to ensure nothing that came before was negated.

But what do we call this alternate universe from the movies? JJverse? Abramsverse? Pinetown Quintopia? Speculate no further; there is an official name: “Kelvin Timeline.”

“Kelvin” refers to the U.S.S. Kelvin, the starship piloted by James T. Kirk’s father (played by a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth) in the beginning of the 2009 film. In that version of things, the Romulan vessel that traveled through time led to the death of Kirk’s father and skewed the history of everyone’s favorite Iowa-boy-turned-yellow-shirted-captain. It makes perfect sense, since that event is what spawned the entire new storyline.

This “Kelvin Timeline” name was coined by Trek historian power couple Denise and Michael Okuda, who are basically the go-to for anything officially having to do with the franchise. The reveal of the name happened in a Twitter conversation last week:

@isolinearchick @EnterpriseExtra More than that, we needed an in-universe term since we needed some way to refer to it in the encyclopedia.

— Holly Amos (@hollyamos22) June 21, 2016

@hollyamos22 @EnterpriseExtra @isolinearchick You're welcome. Denise and I thought long and hard about that one.

— Michael Okuda (@MikeOkuda) June 22, 2016

It seems deceptively simple, doesn’t it? It’s also maybe not the best name for continuity purposes, because generally these splinter universes are called “X Universe” and not “X Timeline.” But either way, in theory, it would also mean other stories could be explored in the same timeline that didn’t have to be Kirk, Spock, Bones, et al. It’s already been established that the new CBS All Access Star Trek series will be in the original timeline, so it’s important to differentiate for fans of the movies versus fans of the TV show. Boy, these universes sure get confusing.

Let me know what you think of the “Kelvin Timeline” in the comments below!

Images: Paramount Pictures

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. Follow him on Twitter!

Relive the Awesomeness of a SpaceX Landing with a Drone and a Pool

Before a recent “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” Elon Musk and his commercial spaceflight company SpaceX had a string of successful landings on a floating drone barge. The purpose of these landings was to prove that the first stages of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets could be recovered from just about any location on Earth and eventually reused. Doing so would dramatically reduce the cost of getting stuff into space.

So far, it looks like that dream is going to soon become reality. But how is the average space enthusiast supposed to relive this glory in potentia at home? With a drone and a pool.

In the video above, YouTuber ajw61185 shows off his mock-ups of the Falcon 9 first stage as well as the autonomous landing site. The stage is powered by quadcopter, and can even deploy landing gear. The barge, painted to “Of Course I Still Love You” perfection, is held in place by wires in a pool. Though there were many tipovers — as SpaceX has experienced first-hand — the drone is able to land on the mini-barge more-or-less perfectly.

The little pile of dust added to the barge makes the on-barge footage look nearly identical to the real landings too.

What do you think? Is this a suitable at-home way to relive the glory of a SpaceX landing? I know if I had the drone I might add a bit of gasoline and fire so that if I got it wrong something would blow up. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Images: ajw61185

Stream the Beautiful Opening Score from the GAME OF THRONES Finale

“I am not really into fantasy, so I am not sure I will really like Game Of Thrones” – Me, an idiot, 6 years ago when someone suggested a new HBO show to me.

“AIUDHASIDUAIUSHDIASUDHIFBKJASFKBJASFBKH” – Me, still an idiot, last night after watching the action-packed season finale of one of my favorite shows of all time.

My oh my, how things have changed since Jaime Lannister gave Bran Stark a little push from a window in Winterfell. Six seasons later and scores of beloved character’s deaths removed from the simple, sinister shove, and I am just one of millions and millions who, rapt and anxious, watched the sixth season finale of one of the most impressive (if not the most) shows on television.

We began, of course, in King’s Landing where Cersei treasonously fulfilled the Mad King’s crazed exhortations and ignited the Sept of Baelor, catalyzing a chain of events signifying that Game Of Thrones is rocketing full speed ahead toward its version of a conclusion. And while the in-universe time has become sometimes jarringly accelerated and disjointed in order to align all of the proper events before the inevitable living vs. dead showdown, some of the most rewarding moments in the show are those that occur slowly, meticulously over time, even if we know the end result already.

Though many fans were prepared for King’s Landing to erupt in an ball of ghoulish green, the most dramatic moments of the opening sequence of last night’s finale were those preceding the initial cataclysm in the catacombs. These precipitous moments were largely the work of Ramin Djawadi’s original composition, “The Light Of The Seven”, which Miguel Sapochnik used to pace and frame these tense scenes.

The 10-minute piece begins with slow inhales and exhales, mournful pianos stirring and taking pause to let in negative space and darkness quietly. All the while we see the banality of evil as both the High Sparrow and Cersei get dressed for the day as it were any other. One sleeve and then the other. Dozens of unsuspecting victims pour into the Great Sept and the sparrows, with their specious piety, take seven seats, perhaps even deigning to consider themselves the gods they pray to. The piano cuts out momentarily so we can hear a pathetic Ser Loras, but then resumes when Lancel pursues a little bird into the tunnels beneath the sept. The music intensifies slowly at first, with cascading strings, and then with what sounds like a chorus of children repeating some mantric church hymnal, despite the godlessness of the following minutes. And with Qyburn’s death sentence to Maester Pycelle–“Sometimes before we can usher in the new, the old must be put to rest,” the song’s wick is finally lit, only to outpace Lancel’s futile crawl with its racing, contrapuntal strings and a Halloween-esque organ. By the time we reach the song’s denouement, which ends just as abruptly as a flicker of a candle, Djawadi’s work has already done what the Wildfire wreaks on those denizens in King’s Landing. And then, silence.

It is truly a masterful showcase of suspense, something that Game Of Thrones has grown to trade in, now that the initial gimmickry of surprise deaths has long since worn off. What we already know can be just as ruthless as the things we don’t know yet. Season 7 is going to be fucking brutal.

Here’s 12 things you may have missed in the episode last night.

Image: HBO

Matt Grosinger is the music editor of Nerdist and doesn’t want to wait a whole fucking year until Game of Thrones comes back.

Cyclops Visor Shoots Flames From Your Eyes

Scott Summers, or the mutant known as Cyclops, fires beams of pure energy from his eyes. The true source of his power however, comes from apertures into another dimension that only ruby-quarts sunglasses can stop. Since that’s crazy and impossible, the only way to make yourself like Cyclops is to invent something just as bizarre, you know, like a welder’s mask that shoots fire from your face.

In the video above, Allen Pan, the same inventor who went viral making an actual version of Thor’s hammer that uses magnets and a fingerprint sensor to make it unliftable, shows off his version of the famous X-Person’s powers.

The mask/visor works with a miniature fuel tank, a pump, two pilot lights and nozzles, and a button on the side of the mask that lets the fire fly (at least that is exactly what Cyclops does in the comics to fire off his extra-dimensional fury). While the burning red flames may not extend as far or as consistently as Cyclops’ beams, the fire nicely pops balloons and sticks to surfaces. Pan actually used more or less the same setup to create the closest thing to a lightsaber that can burn stuff.

Pan admits that this is the craziest thing he has ever built, so if you are thinking of strapping a weaponized welding mask on your face, maybe don’t?

What do you think? Is this a suitable superpower, or should Pan have mounted lasers to his face? Let us know in the comments below.

Images: Sufficiently Advanced

12 Things You Missed in the GAME OF THRONES Finale

Today’s entire Nerdist News will be devoted to last night’s epic Game of Thrones finale “The Winds of Winter” so if you’re still living in a magical universe episodes ago with Hodor, turn back now, because we’re spoiling the whole thing! Winter is HERE and boy is it action-packed. Last night’s extended episode showed us Dany on her way to Westeros, Cersei taking her place on the Iron Throne, Jon Snow: King of the North, and King’s Landing doused in wildfire. But there was also a heck of a lot of stuff not doused in wildfire you might have missed from “The Winds of Winter.”

For brevity’s sake, we’re going to skip all the obvious stuff and jump right into the hot goss! And no family screams gossip quite like the Starks. Did anyone else notice the Direwolf sigil return to Winterfell in the opening credits? That’s right, the Starks are back, baby! Bye bye Boltons and hello tears in my eyes before the title sequence is even finished. (There’s no crying in Westeros!) Next up, sweet sweet Samwell Tarly finally found his calling at the library. And in this library, we saw a familiar little whirligig known as an orrery hanging like a Sia-approved Chandelier, illuminating the books and what appears to be sigils for every house.

Next up on the list: Holy TimeJumps, George! I’m sure we weren’t the only ones confused by the seeming teleportation of some of our faves, but it felt like two seconds before we caught up with Lady Olenna comfortably mourning the loss of her family that blew up in the Sept …all the way in Dorne. Our best guess is a few weeks have passed? In fact, it’s possible months have gone by, as we see Lord Varys travel all the way from Meereen to Dorne, have a nice long chat with Lady Olenna, and then still make it across the sea to join Dany on her ship.

Speaking of Dany’s fleet, as her ships sailed the sea, ever-present dragons looming in the sky, eagle-eyed fans caught a glimpse of several family sigils present on the sails. Among them? None other than the Martell’s sun and the Tyrell’s flower alongside the Greyjoy’s kraken—making for one hell of a team to beat. Let’s just hope all these timejumps didn’t give Euron Greyjoy enough time to build a stronger navy…

Of course, no list would be complete without mentioning the Lannister clan. On Westeros’ favorite reality show in the making, this week’s Keeping Up with the Lannisters saw poor King Tommen biting the bullet, and not in the way we originally predicted! We saw a nice little throwback to Bran’s plummet out of the tower at the end of the pilot with Tommen’s fall to his own death, joining him with Joffrey and Myrcella in the long line of death Cersei can’t seem to escape. And why exactly can’t she escape this? Oh, just a little thing called the prophecy Maggy the Frog gave to her in the season 5 premiere flashback, stating that her children would all die before her, “gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds.” Once we saw Tommen appear in that funeral chic gold, we knew he was on his way out just like his siblings. Maybe try more of a chartreuse next time?

The prophecy also foretold Cersei’s death at the hands of the “valonqar,” which roughly translates to “little brother” in High Valyrian. One popular fan theory says Tyrion, but our money’s on her also-technically-younger-brother Jaime. Especially after that last look between him and his now sister-queen on the throne, if looks could kill, she’d be joining Tommen right… about… now.

Which brings us to the Starks! Though sadly, the vengeance-happy Lady Stoneheart was a no-show this season, it looks like newly minted Faceless assassin Arya Stark just might be taking her vengeful place next season. After the murder of Walder Frey (the same way Catelyn was murdered) and her newfound love for all things bloody, Arya went full demon barber of Fleet Street, baking two of Walder’s sons into a meat pie, and forcing him to eat it. If this pie sounds familiar, it’s not just Sweeney Todd ringing in your ears, it’s also a nice mirror to Bran’s “rat cook” story from season three.

And finally… that iconic Tower of Joy scene: We finally got to see Jon Snow‘s birth! And did you notice the close-up on Arthur Dayne’s sword?? Buckle up because this one’s a doozy. Throughout the show and books, we’ve heard musings from Melisandre about the prophecy of a hero that would rise up against the darkness. This hero, also called the prince that was promised was a hero born under a bleeding star. We see Jon being protected by Arthur Dayne in Bran’s vision. The legend surrounds Dayne, whose house sigil is a comet with a sword, saying his sword, Dawn, was forged from the “heart of a fallen star.” Though Arthur gets cut down with Dawn when Ned Stark arrives at the Tower to rescue Lyanna, giving us the “bleeding star” from the prophecy, Ned takes the bloodied-up Dawn and places it against Lyanna’s bed. The imagery suggests that Jon was born under the protection, wait for it, of… a bleeding star! Boom! Whaaaaat? Your prince who was promised, also known as the son of fire and the warrior of light. Makes sense for a Targaryen to me!

But what do you guys think? Did we miss anything epic? Which brother do you think will force Cersei to bite the bullet? Is Arya about to become the Lady Stoneheart we’ve all been waiting for? Let’s discuss!

Marvel Celebrates Captain America’s 75th Anniversary with New Character Designs

Captain America is a character worth celebrating. Steve Rogers has been part of the Marvel story for 75 years, and the anniversary party is happening all year long. Marvel Games is the latest part of the company to RSVP for the festivities, and they’re honoring Marvel’s First Avenger with new, never before seen versions of Captain America in their mobile and PC game titles.

So, for example, if you play Marvel: Avengers Alliance on Facebook, you’ll have the chance to unlock the Captain America 1901 version of Captain America, Jeremiah Rogers. He’s “America’s first defender of freedom from an alternate timeline who rode with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War.” He has is iconic, extending shield and Iso-8 powered armor. And it just so happens that we have the exclusive reveal of the Captain American 1901 design:

I hope to see cosplayers tackle this look and make a replica of that crazy shield some day.

How do you get Captain America 1901 and these other new versions of Captain America? Limited-time events will kick off on June 30 in each of the games. Jump to the gallery below to see more of the fresh and shiny Captain America designs–including Peggy Carter and Sharon Rogers. They’re from Marvel Avengers Academy, Marvel Contest of Champions, Marvel Future Fight, and Marvel Puzzle Quest.

Will you be playing the heck out of these games to collect all the Captain Americas possible? It’s like Pokémon but with more patriotism! Head to the comments and tell me which Cap you’re going to try to score.

Images: Marvel Games

This SWISS ARMY MAN Clip Has the Best JURASSIC PARK Advice

To many people, Swiss Army Man will forever be known as the movie where Paul Dano rides Daniel Radcliffe’s farting corpse as a jet ski. To others, it will be the farting corpse movie that prompted walkouts during its premiere at Sundance. (For the record, that is lousy reporting; not many folks left.) To those who take the time to sit down and see it and process the weird, wonderful message about love and friendship contained within its murky depths, Swiss Army Man will be a movie that is positively bursting with insight. This is to say nothing of the fact that it’s one of the best films I saw at Sundance and merited an inclusion on our summer indie movie guide.

The film, directed by Daniels (a.k.a. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), follows a suicidal man named Hank (Dano) who is about to shuffle off this mortal coil when he finds a mysterious dead body (Radcliffe). However, this isn’t any ordinary dead body; this one is a literal Swiss Army knife, using his various bodily functions to serve as everything from a light watercraft to a makeshift grappling hook. When the corpse comes back to life, it begins asking a series of increasingly strange but poignant questions about the nature of life, love, and sex.

One such question Hank tries to answer through the lens of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic Jurassic Park. To find out exactly what that advice is, though, you’ll need to watch our exclusive clip above. Or go see the movie in theaters. Either way, you win.

Swiss Army Man is in select theaters now.

Featured Image: A24

Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).

TV-Cap: GAME OF THRONES Ends Season 6 with a Bang

It’s happened. Game of Thrones has wrapped another season and now we probably have to wait until next spring to see new episodes. We discuss the season six finale in today’s TV-Cap and talk about some Once Upon a Time casting, the end of The Leftovers, some Star Trek TV series updates, and more.

Answering All the Things. Westeros went there. There will not be any spoilers in this here space but know that Game of Thrones went full tilt with its season six finale and set some interesting and scary things into motion. The episode jumped around the Seven Kingdoms more than I thought it would and checked in with basically all our favorite characters. Read Alicia’s detailed recap here at Nerdist, check up on our predictions about who we thought would die in the episode, and tune into All Kings Considered today (Monday) at 10am PT on Facebook to watch Alicia and Dan break it all down.

Naughty List. If there’s someone in your life you need to exact revenge upon, you might consider Spoiled. It’s an app that will spoil the latest Game of Thrones plot points for a small fee. With Thrones wrapped up for the time being, they’re considering which show should be the next one they offer to spoil. [Nerdist]

Binge a Relationship. Anna Kendrick appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden, and she and Corden performed the “Soundtrack to a Love Story.” It’s basically an entire relationship in a song from the first date to all the ups and downs. [Nerdist]

A Whole New World. The season five finale of Once Upon a Time saw an introduction to the world of Untold Stories. Some of the citizens of this land have made it to Storybrooke–like Mr. Hyde. Other newcomers apparently include Sinbad and Scheherazade. Tell me about your dream casting in the comments. [TVLine]

Fists Up. Stephen Amell talked to fans during one of his semi-regular live chats on and touched upon episode 501. He’s read the script for the season five premiere of Arrow and noted James Bamford, the series fight coordinator, will be directing the ep. and that it will be off the hook. Amell says it “has the opportunity for us to quite literally have the most vicious, violent one-shot in the history of network television.” He’s insisting on doing the shot without any stunt doubles, so he’s busy getting back in tiptop shape for it. [Comic Book Resources]

Expectations. Bryan Fuller is at the helm of the Star Trek ship for a new series for CBS All Access, and though the premiere is a bit in the future, he shared some details about it at the Saturn Awards. He confirmed there will be a serialized arc in the 13 episodes and said LGBT characters will be included. Get Fuller’s full comments about the final frontier here at Nerdist.

Maybe There’s Hope? Speaking of Fuller, he also was the man in charge on Hannibal. The series was cancelled, but there’s still more story to tell. Fuller said they can’t really do anything about a revival or continuation until two years after the airing of the last show, but on the upshot, it is on his mind. While at the Saturn Awards, he told Collider, “I have the story, and the cast is excited for the story, so we’re ready to go if somebody wants to go.” [Nerdist]

#BTS with Justin Theroux on #TheLeftovers Season 3 set in Austin. pic.twitter.com/jJzqNf8JnH

— The Leftovers (@TheLeftoversHBO) June 14, 2016

The End. HBO’s The Leftovers is coming to a close with season three, and it won’t air until sometime in 2017. Like they did with season two, they’re changing locations for season three. They filmed a couple episodes in Texas, but they’re picking up and moving to Australia–for some reason showrunner Damon Lindelof won’t disclose. He did open up to Deadline in a vague way about the final scene of the series, his plans for the show and whether they’ve panned out, and more. [Slashfilm]

Don’t Forget. Game of Thrones may have dominated our brains over the weekend, but other TV shows made a splash too. Read our recaps of the most recent installments of Outlander and Preacher.

What did you like best about the Game of Thrones season six finale? And least? Share your thoughts with me in the comments.

Featured Image: HBO

Ewan McGregor Negotiates a Sticky Situation in OUR KIND OF TRAITOR Trailer (Exclusive)

There’s something about a John Le Carré adaptation. The master of espionage has a history of creating some of the most intriguing, clever, and brilliantly entertaining spy novels out there—from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to the recent miniseries The Night Manager (and we’re obsessed with them both). In the latest adaptation of his work, from director Susanna White (Parade’s End) and Hossein Amini (a.k.a. the guy who wrote Drive), a teacher (Ewan McGregor) and his girlfriend (Naomie Harris) are forced into a bit of political maneuvering between the Russia mafia and the British secret service …not exactly the most comforting place to be if you literally have no idea how to survive two clandestine forces going at each other’s necks that definitely don’t have your best interest at heart.

Also starring Damian Lewis (a.k.a. Brody from Homeland) and Stellan Skarsgård (a.k.a. that guy that’s in everything ever), Our Kind of Traitor studies the human condition when an ordinary man is put in extraordinary circumstances, and must navigate his own moral compass, and the deception at play, in order to stay alive. After all, what else is there to do but try and survive when you’ve found yourself lured into a Russian oligarch’s plot to defect from his mother country? Perry Makepeace (McGregor) and Gail Perkins (Harris) will no doubt be hunted, chased, and scared; their moral limits tested. And in that way that only Le Carré can manage with such cutting originality, it will surely keep us all on the edge of our seats. And you can see all of that on display in the exclusive clip up above, and in the trailer below:

Our Kind of Traitor hits theaters on July 1st, 2016. Are you going to check it out? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Image: Roadside Attractions