The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series Game of Thrones will begin shooting its next season later this summer, it was announced today by Casey Bloys, president, HBO programming. Production of the seven-episode seventh season will be based in Northern Ireland, while additional portions will be filmed in Spain and Iceland, with debut slated for summer 2017 on HBO. Here's what Casey Bloys had to say to Deadline about the production delay on Game of Thrones Season 7.
"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. Instead of the show's traditional spring debut, we're moving the debut to summer to accommodate the shooting schedule."
Season 7 directors will include Mark Mylod, Jeremy Podeswa, Matt Shakman and Alan Taylor. Locations for shooting in Spain will include Sevilla, Caceres, Almodovar del Rio, Santiponce, Zumaia and Bermeo. Last week, Game of Thrones received 23 Primetime Emmy nominations, the most of any nominee for the third year in a row. This year's nominations include Outstanding Drama Series, 2 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington), 3 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams}), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Max von Sydow), 2 for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Miguel Sapochnik, Jack Bender) and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David Benioff and D.B. Weiss).
The executive producers of Game of Thrones Season 7 are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger and Bernadette Caulfield; co-executive producers, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis, George R.R. Martin and Bryan Cogman; producers, Chris Newman, Greg Spence and Lisa McAtackney. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have confirmed that there will be only two more seasons of Game of Thrones, both of which will be shorter than the typical 10-episode seasons fans have grown accustomed to. While Season 8 still hasn't been confirmed yet, HBO confirmed today that Season 7 will span just seven episodes, and it has been rumored that Season 8 will span just six seasons.
The news comes just days before the Game of Thrones Comic-Con panel in Hall H on Friday, July 22 at 2:15 p.m. will be moderated by Rob McElhenney. Panelists include: executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, director Miguel Sapochnik and cast members (in alphabetical order) John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Liam Cunningham (Ser Davos Seaworth), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Isaac Hemptstead Wright (Bran Stark), Conleth Hill (Varys), Faye Marsay (The Waif), Kristian Nairn (Hodor), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark). There will also be an autograph signing at 4:15 PM on Friday, July 22. Stay tuned for more on Game of Thrones as we get closer to the SDCC panel.