HBO has released a new poster for their upcoming series A Game of Thrones. See it here below.

The poster shows Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) sitting on the Iron Throne, a throne the book describes as being designed to be as uncomfortable as possible, because no ruler should ever sit comfortably. This is just the next step in advertising as HBO prepares to launch what may be one of the most anticipated new shows in years, and I’m sure we will be seeing much more as we approach the show’s April 17, 2011 premiere date.

If you haven’t watched the trailer yet, give it a look. The series follows the dealings of the Stark clan as they try to survive the political intrigue of a medieval style court of a land called Westeros. Eddard Stark is chosen to be the new advisor for the King (Mark Addy) and now he and his family must deal with a host of different forces trying to steal power. The show is based on the novels by George R.R. Martin, of which four have been released, with the fifth book set for release later this year.

I have one thing I have to say about the show’s advertising, and it is that they need to stop with the cheesy action taglines. This poster has the line “You Win or You Die,” which feels like it should be on the poster for an early ’90s Schwarzenegger movie. The last trailer was nearly perfect, until you reached the end of it and read the tagline “The Game Begins.” It’s not that it’s a terrible line, although it’s not good, the real problem is that it doesn’t really fit the tone of the books. The books are very serious, and even the tone of the trailer is pretty serious, and these taglines are a bit too tongue in cheek for my liking. I could be over analyzing it, but it’s just enough to make me laugh a little.

HBO also launched an interactive puzzle at The Maester’s Path, which our own Movie God has been hard at work trying to solve ever since receiving the Scents & Scrolls Box From HBO for Game Of Thrones. I haven’t had a chance to mess with it myself, but I’m assuming the game leads to some kind of information about the show or some behind the scenes footage.

Poster

[Source: LA Times]