Skip to main content

Game of Thrones goes IMAX with remastered episodes and a fifth season sneak peek

game thrones goes imax remastered episodes fifth season sneak peek of mockingbird 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder
HBO’s hit series Game Of Thrones has been breaking all kinds of records for a while now (including a few records it might prefer not to hold), but this month the network and its premiere show will be the very first to do something special on the biggest screens of them all. On January 23, HBO will show several episodes of Game Of Thrones in IMAX theaters, as well as a specially-made IMAX preview of the upcoming season.

According to the network’s official announcement of the event, HBO will digitally re-master two episodes from Season Four of Game Of Thrones to be shown in the IMAX format, with the episodes screening for one week in over 150 IMAX venues around the country. The episodes will be accompanied by “sneak-peek trailer” of Season Five that was created specifically for viewing in IMAX theaters.

“The cinematic brilliance and grand scope of the series is perfect for the IMAX format,” said HBO’s chief marketing officer, Pamela Levine, in a statement accompanying the announcement. “We are always looking to provide fans with new and exciting ways to experience the show and viewing two key episodes, along with the new trailer, on such an impressive platform makes for a great event.”

The two episodes receiving the IMAX treatment are Season 4: Episode 9’s “The Watchers on the Wall” and Season 4: Episode 10’s “The Children.” There’s no word yet on exactly which theaters will be participating in the event and how much tickets will cost, but anyone interested in attending a screening is encouraged to check IMAX.com for updates.

Editors' Recommendations

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
The Red Wedding at 10: How the groundbreaking episode changed Game of Thrones forever
Robb Stark's body with his direwolf's head in Game of Thrones.

The so-called Golden Age of Television reached its undeniable zenith during the 2010s. Shows like Mad Men, Veep, Breaking Bad, and Stranger Things took TV to new and exciting levels of visual and narrative quality. However, no show had more influence or acclaim throughout the 2010s than Game of Thrones. The HBO juggernaut became synonymous with prestige television, delivering a perfect mix of political intrigue, high fantasy, and sex that became irresistible for critics and audiences.

Game of Thrones wasn't an instant success; it was only in season 3 that the show became the must-see show on television. Two events helped the show achieve this elusive reputation. The first was Daenerys' sacking of Astapor in the fourth episode, And Now His Watch Has Ended. The second is, of course, the Red Wedding. The episode it was featured in, The Rains of Castamere, changed the series' course, altering the fate of multiple characters and radically shifting the power balance between the noble houses of Westeros. The groundbreaking episode showcased Game of Thrones operating at full strength, and, as a result, allowed audiences to truly understand what kind of show they were watching.
Game of Thrones sends its regards

Read more
Star Wars’ distant past has potential for Game of Thrones-like drama
A collage of characters in "Star Wars: The Old Republic" promo art.

While pondering yet another big IP Disney+ series can seem like an exhaustive thought considering its current breakneck output, Andor's critical success for both the streaming platform and the Star Wars franchise as a whole gives a taste of the potential that the Old Republic could provide to a TV series. That's in addition to the benefit of being heavily separated from the Skywalker Saga legacy.

No series needs to be darker and more serious to be inherently better, but the level of tension and drama found in Cassian Andor's gritty origin story should be a seamless fit somewhere within the literal thousands of years worth of history in Star Wars' distant past. In the Old Republic, there's no shortage of Jedi, Sith, intergalactic factions, political intrigue, and more that could give Disney+ and Lucasfilm a major and long-running Game of Thrones-level drama to keep audiences reeled in season in and season out.
The Old Republic provides an embarrassment of riches

Read more
How House of the Dragon saved Game of Thrones’ tarnished legacy
Alicent and Rhaenyra clutch each other in House of the Dragon.

May 19, 2019, is a date branded on the pop culture lexicon. The finale to Game of Thrones, the television phenomenon that single-handedly revitalized the fantasy genre and redefined what "event television" meant, aired to the collective disappointment of millions of fans. The show's decline in quality had begun in season 7, with some questionable choices happening as far back as season 5, but the train wreck that was season 8 was beyond words. Consistency went out the window in favor of spectacle, resulting in a rushed season that reduced the world's greatest TV show into a sad shadow of its former self.

The controversial finale put a seemingly permanent stain on Game of Thrones. In the years leading up to its conclusion, HBO expressed interest in creating a franchise based around George R. R. Martin's World of Ice and Fire. However, the episode's terrible reception put the network's plan in doubt, with many wondering if the Game of Thrones brand was in a healthy enough place to support a franchise. Things got worse when the first spinoff, starring Naomi Watts, got unceremoniously axed -- even after shooting a $30 million pilot -- spelling doom for the would-be franchise. Alas, not all was lost; GoT still had an ace up its sleeve, and it was called House Targaryen.
Mother of Dragons

Read more