What will happen when Game of Thrones Season 7 finally arrives on HBO?
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And like that, our summer joy quickly vanished, its warm embrace fading into the bitter taste of a winter’s kiss in a seeming instant. For despite Game of Thrones finishing its 2016 season before even the Fourth of July, White Walkers were on the move… and we have to now wait possibly another nine 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.”
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But there is plenty of good news too. Join us in this living and breathing document as we anticipate the coming ice storm!
Latest Game of Thrones News
Sophie Turner chatted with Vulture recently, which in this case meant one thing: lots of hints and teases about what to expect from the most enigmatic Stark child as we head into Game of Thrones season 7! Indeed, Sansa has arguably suffered more than any of her (living) siblings, and ended season 6 while winning a great victory for her House over her most heinous abuser. And yet, Sansa was not entirely pleased when Jon Snow was made King in the North, especially with Littlefinger whispering sweet treacheries in her ear. And Ms. Turner spoke about exactly that, and whether we'll see more of "Dark Sansa" in season 7.
"Oh yeah, this is so much more Dark Sansa," Turner said. :When she changed her outfit that was just the first hint that she was ready to start playing the game. That was a mild version of Dark Sansa, and now it's really starting to feel like there is a dark side to her. She's playing the game now, and very ruthlessly. When she wants something, she's going to go out and get it."
Also while speaking of that scene where Sansa watched her half-brother be crowned king, Turner said, "At the end of the season, Sansa gets a taste of power — and it's the first time that she's had that ever, really. She feels like it's deserved because she did so much for Jon and the North, so when she saves the day and doesn't get any recognition for it, it was like she had that first taste of power and then was immediately stripped of it. She was stripped of the respect that she really feels she deserves. She was trying to give her input to Jon and trying to be a collaborative leader, but it's difficult when it's a patriarchy and when there's sexism. It would be a real adjustment for Jon to listen to her and do what she says."
Turner also speaks about how Sansa will have power over Littlefinger in season 7 and he'll be compelled to remain loyal to her as she uses it. You can read about that, as well as how she is seemingly preparing for an eighth and final season, right here.
Game of Thrones Season 7 Release Date
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."
Game of Thrones 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?