First two 'Game of Thrones' season 8 episodes will be less than an hour long

The first two episodes of Game of Thrones season eight will run to just under an hour, broadcaster HBO has confirmed.

Fans of the fantasy series are expecting epic spectacle from its final season, with just six episodes to go, rather than the usual 10 and fewer even the seven episode run of the last season in 2017.

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Episode one of the highly anticipated final season will run to 54 minutes, while its follow-up will last 58 minutes, according to the broadcast schedule on the official HBO website.

These running times are consistent with the usual length of a Game of Thrones episode, but it is expected that later episodes of the season will be longer and that some will be feature-length.

With just weeks to go until the premiere date, fans are anxious to see what HBO’s adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy novels has in store.

At the end of the seventh season, Kit Harington’s Jon Snow and Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen were seen preparing for war with the White Walkers, who breached the defences of the Wall with the help of a reanimated dragon.

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The recently released trailer for the new season gave tantalising glimpses of some of the show’s trademark lavish battle scenes, as well as teasers of Stark daughters Arya and Sansa seeing dragons for the first time.

Emilia Clarke has said there were “loads of tears” while filming her final scenes, while co-star Harington said he experienced “grief” when the show was over.

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The final season of Game of Thrones airs on HBO from 14 April, with the first episode’s UK premiere set for broadcast on Sky Atlantic.