Actors Sophie Turner, Gwendoline Christie, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Carice van Houten, writer David Benioff, actor Peter Dinklage, Conleth Hill, writer D. B. Weiss, Lena Headey, director David Nutter and actors John Bradley-West and Alfie A (Photo : Getty Images/ Kevork Djansezian)
Fans of the popular American fantasy drama television series will have to wait a little bit longer after HBO announced that "Game of Thrones" Season 7 will have a Summer 2017 release. The follow up for Season 6 "The Winds of Winter" will take a later release date due to weather, as production for the series would have to start a little later to reflect a winter-imposed setting.
In a statement released on Medium on July 18, Monday, Executive Producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss said that filming for "Game of Thrones" Season 7 will start this summer until the fall. Instead of the usual spring premiere, the adaptation of George R.R. Martin's best-selling book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" would take a summer debut.
"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," HBO Programming President Casey Bloys said in the press release. "Instead of the show's traditional spring debut, we're moving the debut to summer to accommodate the shooting schedule."
The HBO announcement came after "Game of Thrones" was nominated in 23 Emmy categories in the previous week. The series has been nominated in many categories for three years in a row. However, HBO's decision to push back the premiere of "Game of Thrones" Season 7 may take the series out of the Emmy nominations, including the best drama series as the eligibility period ends on May 31, according to TV Line.
HBO also announced that "Game of Thrones" Season 6 per episode averaged 25.1 million viewers. The series garnered new record after surpassing Season 5 with 20.2 million viewers each episode. The data were collected based from live viewing, on demand, DVR and streaming services.
"Game of Thrones" Season 7 production will take place in three locations, Northern Ireland, Iceland and Spain. It will be featuring seven episodes, which is shorter than its regular 10-episode. Directors of the upcoming season include Jeremy Podeswa, Mark Mylod, Alan Taylor and Matt Shakman.
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