With only two seasons left, Game of Thrones still has many mysteries and secrets left to dangle in front of theory-embracing fans, but the one that has most recently been the hardest to cope with concerned the long-awaited release date for the unfortunately shortened Season 7. Well, there's no longer a need to listen to rumors and whispers from women atop dragons, as HBO is finally coming clean with when fans can return to the dramatic machinations of Game of Thrones: July 16, 2017.
Grab those datebooks and calendars and cancels everything you've got going on Sunday, July 17, because it has just become irrelevant, regardless of if it's a wedding, a baby delivery or a funeral. (Also, why are you planning funerals so far ahead of time?) Game of Thrones has been gone from our lives ever since June 26, 2016, and while this is normally the time when we'd be feasting on trailers and footage ahead of an April debut, Winter's impending arrival knocked the production schedule back a few months, and the date was revealed with both ice and fire in mind, and a big frozen block had to be melted down in order for the date to be revealed. (And it got delayed and took ages, which is fitting for this show.)
So we're getting Season 7 during the hottest time of the year, though no one would be wise to live vicariously through these Winter-dwelling characters. In fact, the Facebook Live video was preceded by a short clip ominously stating "Fear is For the Winter." There are dark times ahead, folks, and for many different characters.
One has to wonder if Game of Thrones' release date was planned specifically around when the NFL's Sunday Night Football would presumably be debuting. Last year's first regular season Sunday night game was on September 11, so it would make sense for this year's debut to happen on September 10. Knowing that Season 7 is only going to be seven or eight episodes, you just count back from that date to get a good assumption. And a July 17 debut gives them eight weeks.
Check out the final video below.
We'd love to know a lot more about where Game of Thrones is headed in Season 7, of course, and though we do appreciate what little has come out - such as news about Bran's fate, about Jim Broadbent's new role and what the mood on the set was like - the hunger for more is as strong as the hound that dined on Ramsay Bolton. Here's hoping nobody decides to add a bunch of days to the ends of March, April, May and June.
So, even though I'm deadly certain that no one reading this will forget the key piece of information mentioned, mark down your calendars to show that Game of Thrones will finally be back on HBO and in our lives for Season 7 on Sunday, July 16, 2017. Check out our list of the most gruesome GoT deaths and then head to our midseason premiere schedule to see what other shows are hitting the small screen months before the fantasy epic returns.
