New 'Game of Thrones' Season May Be Delayed
The showrunners want to be able to capture the true essence of winter.
— -- Winter is going to be late next year.
In spite of Sansa Stark's announcing that winter is here in the final episode of season 6, devoted fans of the HBO fantasy drama "Game of Thrones" will be disappointed to learn, because of the weather, season 7 may be delayed.
In an interview with the "UFC Unfiltered" podcast, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss said that production on season 7 will be delayed in order to capture the true essence of winter.
When asked if the series will return in April, as it has done almost every year since it debuted in 2011, the producers said it was unlikely. “No … we don’t have an airdate yet, but this year it’ll probably be a bit later, ’cause 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, gray weather, even in the sunnier places that we shoot.”
Winter is essential to the climax of the storyline as it brings the White Walkers, who threaten the existence of every living thing. So far, however, only the Night’s Watch has been preparing for their arrival.
HBO has yet to comment on an airdate for season 7. Season 6 premiered on April 24 and recently concluded.
Fans were already disappointed to learn that the next two seasons — the last ones planned for the beloved show — may include fewer episodes than the 10 in each of the first six seasons.