Game of Thrones Reunion Special Bypasses HBO, Heads Straight to DVD

Sean Bean is reuniting with his Game of Thrones family on screen, though not in the way supporters of House Stark have been hoping. An official reunion special, featuring major members of the HBO drama’s cast (including Bean), was filmed in Belfast earlier this year and will be included as a special feature in an upcoming box set of the complete series, EW reports. It was previously believed that the special would air on HBO, but the network has confirmed this to be untrue.

Speaking of Stark family reunions, we know that at least one member will be seen again before Thrones takes its final bow. According to visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer, Jon Snow’s direwolf Ghost “has a fair amount of screen time” in Season 8. (Sorry, were you hoping for Lady Stoneheart? … So were we.)

Though an exact date has not yet been announced, we know that Game of Thrones‘ eighth and final season will premiere in April 2019. (The date, we assume, is encased in another block of ice.) The box set, complete with the aforementioned reunion special, will likely be released shortly after the finale airs.

Which other familiar faces, regardless of their characters’ fate, do you hope to see in Thrones‘ reunion special? And while we’re at it, what are your hopes for the final season? Drop ’em all in a comment below.