As part of the announcement that the Game of Thrones Season 7 Blu-Ray and DVD set will be released on December 12th (with a digital download available September 25th), HBO has unveiled the first chapter of Conquest & Rebellion: An Animated History of the Seven Kingdoms. The 45-minute special will accompany audio commentaries of the episodes as well as two behind-the-scenes featurettes. Conquest and Rebellion is a new extension to the History & Lore features from previous DVD releases, and features Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) and more series stars to narrate.

My initial thought, though, is how did it take so long for them to put this together? This kind of animated history would have been so helpful in earlier seasons especially. The focus on the story of how Westeros came to be and the first Targaryen invasion is certainly a handy companion to a lot of Season 7's storyline, especially for those who haven't read the books. Author George R. R. Martin is really good at world-building and coming up with complex histories for his characters, and it's not something the show has spent much time on. In fact, the Tagaryen history here with the Dragon riders, etc, is something that Dave Trumbore and I thought would make for an excellent animated prequel series, so this is about as close as we're probably going to get with that!

The storybook style is also a really great way to tell this particular story -- check out the first chapter below:

Here are all of the specs for the Blu Ray release:

Blu-ray™ & DVD Exclusive Bonus Features Include

• Conquest & Rebellion: An Animated History of the Seven Kingdoms- From the Game of Thrones realm comes the never-before-seen story of the tumultuous events that shaped the world of Westeros for thousands of years before the series start. Cast members Pilou Asbæk (Euron Greyjoy), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger), Conleth Hill (Varys), Harry Lloyd (Viserys Targaryen) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) team up to narrate  the animated telling of Aegon Targaryen’s attempts to conquer the Seven Kingdoms, written by show writer Dave Hill.
• From Imagination to Reality: Inside the Art Department- Extensive two-part featurette detailing the astonishing work of Production Designer Deborah Riley and her Art Department, dissecting the process behind the creation of this season’s incredible new sets, including Dragonstone, Casterly Rock, Highgarden, the Dragonpit, and more.
• Fire & Steel: Creating the Invasion of Westeros- Revisit this season’s most pivotal moments with this behind-the-scenes featurette, including interviews with key cast and crew breaking down how fans’ favorite moments were created.
• Audio Commentaries- Commentaries on every episode with cast and crew including David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Jacob Anderson, Gwendoline Christie, Liam Cunningham, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, and more.

Blu-ray™ Exclusive Bonus Features Include:

• Histories and Lore- 7 new animated pieces that give the history and background of notable season 7 locations and storylines including The Dragonpit, Highgarden, Prophecies of the Known World, the Rains of Castamere and more all narrated by cast members including  Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Aidan Gillen, Iain Glen and more.
• In-Episode Guides- In-feature resource that provides background information about on-screen characters and locations.

Digital Download Exclusive Bonus Features Include:

• Creating the North and Beyond- Behind-the-scenes featurette delving into the massive undertaking of creating and filming the battle in Episode 6 of Season 7.