“Game of Thrones” Season 7 is imminent, and there’s still a lot we don’t know. But here are a few things we do know…
The premiere date
With a “watching ice melt” fan event, HBO revealed “Game of Thrones” will return on Sunday, July 16.
More reunions are coming
“It’s coming to a conclusion and people are forming alliances with other characters, maybe that they’ve seen before, maybe that they haven’t,” Sansa Stark actress Sophie Turner told TheWrap. “There are definitely a few reunions happening this season — or unions.”
The number of episodes
Unlike the 10-episode seasons of the past, Season 7 will consist of only seven episodes. And Season 8 – the final season – will have even less: Six episodes to end it all.
Ed Sheeran will make a cameo
It will probably be blink-and-you-miss it, but Taylor Swift’s BFF will make an appearance – and it was arranged as a surprise for superfan Maisie Williams during filming.
The new tagline
“Fear is for the winter” is a callback to Season 1, and certainly promises the season that’s been predicted to come to Westeros for seven years now.
It will focus on core characters
There are “less characters coming in” this season, said Jon Snow actor Kit Harington in a recent interview. “They’re focusing in on the existing ones, and there are lots of people who cross paths, and that’s something that I think the audience has been waiting for for a long time.”
There are some new cast members
Jim Broadbent is the biggest name to join Season 7, while Freddie Stroma’s role, Dickon Tarly, has been recast. Sam’s older brother will now be played by Tom Hopper.
Bigger dragons are coming
“The dragons this year are the size of 747s,” director Matt Shankman told Entertainment Weekly. “Drogon is the biggest of the bunch — his flame is 30-feet in diameter!”
At long last: a meeting (spoiler!)
A paparazzi photo appears to show Jon Snow approaching Daenerys Targaryen. So, unless it’s for a piece of promotional material — or a fake-out — the titular “song of ice and fire” is about to begin for real, at last.
The directors
Series vets Alan Taylor, Jeremy Podeswa and Mark Mylod are all returning to direct episodes, while Matt Shakman, best known for directing a plethora of episodes of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” is stepping behind the “GoT” cameras for the first time.
A fan favorite returns?
Arya’s pal Gandry hasn’t been seen since Season 3, rowing off into the distance. But could he finally be returning? According to ever-reliable fan airport sightings, yes.
