Game of Thrones Season 7 Premiere, Casting Breakdowns, Directors, & More!

And like that our summer joy has suddenly vanished, its warm embrace fading into the bitter taste of winter’s kiss. For despite it being the dog days of August, White Walkers are on the move… and we have to now wait possibly another 11 months until Game of Thrones season 7 relieves us from our patient watch once more!

Aye, Game of Thrones Season 7 will consist of seven episodes and debut possibly several months later than expected, confirming the icy dread that fans have expected for months now: the Long Night of Winter is here, and the coming summer will be shorter than ever.

“Now that winter has arrived on Game Of Thrones, executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss felt that the storylines of the next season would be better served by starting production a little later than usual, when the weather is changing,” Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming, said in a statement. “Instead of the show’s traditional spring debut, we’re moving the debut to summer to accommodate the shooting schedule.”

But there is plenty of good news too. Join us in this living and breathing document as we anticipate the coming ice storm!

Latest News

While somewhat later than last year, the Game of Thrones season 7 casting breakdowns have emerged. Thanks to our friends at Watchers on the Wall, we have a glimpse of the parts going out to casting agencies for the new season. Ironically, since we are now well past George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire," it is much harder to line up vague casting descriptions to characters. In past seasons, it was pretty clear when producers were casting Euron Greyjoy since they wrote about "pirates," or Randyll Tarly when words like "military" and "disapproving father" are used.

However, there are still some clues about season 7 in the below casting. Other than a Northern gatekeeper and a merchant of vague ethnicity (suggesting a person from Essos), most of them are required to be white and speak with an RP English accent. The RP accent is generally reserved for denziens of King's Landing on the show. Ergo, it is easy to surmise much of the action will be dealing with the aftermath of Cersei becoming queen in the capital. Further, one of the requests is for what sounds to be a sizeable role (several months of shooting) as a City Guard. This might point to the new leader of the City Watch, who will have a major role in season 7 if Daenerys' army comes calling for Cersei's reign during a siege...

Official casting breakdowns are below.

• General, in the age range 40 – 55. He’s a senior military officer, and they’re looking for a white actor who uses the British RP accent. The actor is needed for the week of September 6th.

• Priest, in his 60’s. He’s a venerable priest with moral authority and gravitas. The show is seeking a white actor, using an RP accent, with characterful face for this part. He’s scheduled to shoot one week, from September 22nd.

• Warrior, in the 35 – 45 age range. The character is a tough-looking bruiser with the attack skills of a pit bull, and the actor needs to be great at fighting. He has a “considerable” amount of dialogue as well. It’s described as an “excellent part for a top-end actor.” Helpful clues in the description? We know it’s not a Dothraki character as the actor for the role is required to be white, and they’re asking for a neutral and non-posh English accent. This role is currently scheduled to shoot across October.

• Gate Guard, in his 20’s. The character is described as a “Confident, characterful, straight-talking Northern lad with a great face to play across a very excellent series of scenes.”  They’re looking someone with wit, timing, and charisma. He’s currently scheduled to film between mid-October and mid-November.

• City Guard, in his 30’s. The show is casting for a city guard who intercepts a suspicious-looking person on his nightly patrol. They require an RP accent for this one. He’s set to shoot for a week in mid-October.

• Merchant, in his 40’s. The merchant appears at an inn during a busy evening. They’re seeking a character actor, for a non-combatant role. His appearance is more open, including ethnicity/race. That suggests a character appearing somewhere in Essos- or a place we’ve never been before, since Daenerys is now on the move. This part is scheduled to shoot the first week of November.

• Lovely Lady. Ah yes, what would Game of Thrones be without its courtesans and nudity? The show is casting for an attractive young courtesan who is sure of her own mind. It’s described as a “good speaking part” and casting notes that full nudity is required for the role. Similar to the merchant, the lovely lady’s physical appearance is open, indicating this role is for somewhere on Essos, or at a new location. She’s scheduled to shoot for one week in early October.

• Young Lord in his late 20’s. He’s a tall, handsome young lord, and the show is looking for a white actor who uses the RP accent. He’s scheduled to shoot in the week commencing September 20th.

• Lieutenant, in his 20’s. The character is described as an athletic, physically fit, and disciplined warrior. Appearance-wise, they’re looking for someone not white, with Middle Eastern descent mentioned. This bears the hallmarks of a Dothraki character description. He’s set to shoot several days across three weeks, between mid-September and mid-November.

Game of Thrones Season 7 Premiere Date Delay

As has been much discussed, Game of Thrones season 7 was delayed until an unspecified month in summer 2017. The reason for the delay was previously explained by showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss on the UFC Unfiltered podcast. Apparently, now that Winter is finally here (it only took six years!), it means that production will have to start later--in September to be exact--to allow for the proper grim and gray weather necessary for Westeros.

“No … we don’t have an airdate yet, but this year it’ll probably be a bit later,” the showrunners told UFC Unfiltered hosts Matt Serra and Jim Norton. “[Because] we’re starting a bit later because at the end of this season, ‘winter is here,’ and that means that sunny weather doesn’t really serve our purposes anymore. So we kind of pushed everything down the line, so we could get some grim, grey weather even in the sunnier places that we shoot.”

During the show's SDCC panel, which we covered live, Benioff further explained with some humor, "We have to shoot in places where there are trees, so we have to wait for the leaves to fall off. So, we’re actually waiting to shoot [until] later in the year. That means we don’t finish shooting until February, and there’s no way of finishing post; there’s no way to get the show out there until summer."

Season 7 Episode Count

First, HBO unsurprisingly greenlit Game of Thrones for a season 7 before season 6 even aired. Building up the week of hype for the premiere, the premium cable network nonchalantly confirmed a seventh season in late April, but tellingly did not reveal the length.

We now know that it will be seven episodes, something that Benioff and Weiss have hinted for months now. But also worth noting is that at this time, season 8 looks poised to only be a mere six episodes.

Benioff and Weiss also confirmed this is the gameplan still while chatting with Deadline after season 6 concluded. On the endgame, Benioff said, "It’s two more seasons we’re talking about. From pretty close to the beginning, we talked about doing this in 70-75 hours, and that’s what we’ll end up with. Call it 73 for now."

This would appear to confirm that season 7 will stick to their initial plan as a seven-episode affair. Still, maybe they'll realize they need an extra one or two episodes in season 8, so we'll get more than just six hours for the final year?

Game of Thrones Season 7 Directors

Luckily, despite the delay, the news is already beginning to fall like the Rains of Castamere since HBO just revealed the directors list for Game of Thrones season 7. Among the returning names are:

Alan Taylor - This filmmaker returns from the world of blockbusters where Marvel borrowed him for Thor: The Dark World. He also directed his khaleesi Emilia Clarke again in last year's Terminator: Genisys. But before any of that, Taylor directed the two stunning final episodes of Game of Thrones season 1, "Baelor" which saw the end of Ned Stark, and "Fire and Blood," the one that welcomed three baby dragons into the world. He also helmed four episodes of season 2, including the season premiere. So this is a bit of a homecoming.

Jeremy Podeswa - Here is a relative newcomer to the GoT family having helmed four previous episodes, including the first two episodes of season 6 that featured the return of Jon Snow. Podeswa also directed the infamous "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" in season 5.

Mark Mylod - This Shameless (U.S. version) and Entourage veteran also joined Game of Thrones in season 5. But he likely made a bigger impact on fans in season 6 when helmed "The Broken Man," the excellent, gingerly episode with Ian McShane, as well as "No One," the episode where Arya slept off three stab wounds to the stomach.

Matt Shakman - Shakman will be the newbie of season 7 since this will be his maiden voyage on the HBO flagship. However, Shakman has previously directed episodes of The Good Wife, Mad Men, and Revenge. He is also best known for extensive work on the cult comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Surprisingly, Miguel Sapochnik is not directing any episodes in season 7. Sapochnik won over fans and Game of Thrones showrunners alike when he helmed the staggeringly impressive "Hardhome" in season 5. He followed that up with two of the most popular episodes in the series' entire run in season 6, the genuinely cinematic installments of "The Battle of the Bastards" and "The Winds of Winter."

... Maybe their final two episodes for the series in season 8 are just so huge, he's getting a head start on planning them now? That seems to be at least a strong possibility given that while at the SDCC panel, Sapochnik was brought on stage (a rarity for TV directors) and when asked if he'd be back for season 8, he said, "I would very much hope so, yes."

I noticed that Dan Weiss nodded with approval during that answer.