The wait to return to Westeros just got a little bit easier.
While Game of Thrones still won't be back for season seven until July 16, HBO has just released the eagerly-awaited first photos from the shortened new season. And trust us when we say they do not disappoint. All of your favorites are and accounted for including Mad Queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Heady) sitting on her throne, with brother/lover Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) standing guard, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) looking mighty suspicious up in the North and Khalessi (Emilia Clarke) looking fierce AF as always. Season six MVP Lyanna Mormont (Bella Ramsey) is even in the mix of 15 images in all her tiny-but-mighty glory! To see your faves back in action, be sure to click through our new gallery.
Unfortunately, no sign of season seven newbies Jim Broadbent or Ed Sheeran in the photos. Somethings have to be kept a mystery before July, after all.
The release of photos comes just weeks after the network gave fans a glimpse of their favorite character's new wardrobe for season seven, courtesy of a new promo for the cable channel that features stars from all of HBO's programming recreating their famous "Ahh" intro.
After a rather hilariously bungled premiere date reveal, during which HBO literally made fans watch ice melt, the network released the first promo for the new season, which has been truncated from the usual 10 episodes to seven. In the clip, Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Danerys and Cersei each travel the halls of their respective kingdoms before taking a seat on their thrones. We're quickly reminded that their petty war over the Iron Throne ultimately means nothing as Cersei exhales, her breath becoming visible in the winter air. As the camera pulls back, the crystal blue eye of the Night King comes into focus. And he doesn't care who sits on what throne.
If all of this wasn't enough to get you wishing it was July already, this tease from Maisie Williams should do the trick. After she finished reading the season seven finale script, she took to Twitter to warn us about what's in store. "Just finished reading season 7," she tweeted. "S—t gets REAL…I'd start preparing yourselves now…Scratch that, nothing will prepare you for this."
Game of Thrones returns on Sunday, July 16 on HBO.