We Won’t Be Getting GOT Back As Soon As We Thought

Game of Thrones's sixth season wrapped up last month, leaving fans hungry for the next installment. While HBO hasn't set a premiere date, many assumed the series would return next April or May, since that's when it's aired in the past. But we may be waiting a bit longer than that, as Time reports. Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss hinted on the UFC Unfiltered podcast that the 2017 premiere date for season 7 will likely fall later than in previous years. "We don't have an air date yet, but this year will probably be a little bit later," Weiss said. The reason behind the change is a very practical one. "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," Weiss explained. "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." Between this and the truncated seven-episode run that director Jack Bender told Vanity Fair to expect next season, the Game of Thrones creators really do know how to leave us wanting more.