Game of Thrones is one of the few pop culture properties that’s bigger than the Super Bowl. That’s why I didn’t have high hopes for a new season 8 trailer. Sure, we’re only a few months away from the April 14 premiere date, but HBO has been extra secretive this time around. So far, we’ve only seen one quick moment of new footage, and the only teasers have only hinted at the themes of the final season, instead of showing us something concrete.
People are going to watch the final season of Game of Thrones no matter what, is what I’m saying, so HBO certainly doesn’t need any help from the Big Game. And yet, when I ran to the kitchen for a chip refill, I felt my blood run cold when that familiar Thrones music kicked in. Maybe we are getting a new trailer and my hunches were wrong!
Alas, I was a sweet summer child back then, for a quick rewind revealed something quite different. Yes, it’s got a dragon and features The Mountain, but this was no new trailer. It was, in fact, a Bud Light commercial.
.@TheBudKnightOpens in a new tab’s watch has ended.
What will you do #ForTheThroneOpens in a new tab?#SBLIIIOpens in a new tab @BudLightOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/SzhvDcNAaLOpens in a new tab— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) February 4, 2019Opens in a new tab
Judging from the official Twitter accountOpens in a new tab, the “Bud Knight” has been a thing since at least 2017. I honestly had no idea. From the looks of Twitter, a lot of people are mad online about the fake out.
We don’t want a bad beer commercial @HBOOpens in a new tab, we want a teaser or trailer with actual footage from the new season of @GameOfThronesOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/07pGeU2WKWOpens in a new tab
— Sue the Fury (@SueTheFury) February 4, 2019Opens in a new tab
I didn’t think anything in the world could make me not want to watch the final season of GAME OF THRONES.
I was wrong. pic.twitter.com/5TKfAOywoMOpens in a new tab
— David Chen (@davechensky) February 4, 2019Opens in a new tab
That Bud Light ad turning into a Game of Thrones ad means that all of the latter’s Emmy Awards have been stripped, by ruling of the Television Critics Association.
— Todd VanDerWerff (@tvoti) February 4, 2019Opens in a new tab
The logic doesn’t even check out!
i don’t understand — the Mountain (aka Ser Robert Strong) is under Cersei Lannister’s control. Why would he be working alongside Drogon, one of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons to attack the Bud Light kingdom? They have no reason to be on the same side. This isn’t canon
— James Grebey (@jgrebes) February 4, 2019Opens in a new tab
Alas, it looks like we have to wait even longer for this Long Night to end.
Images: HBO