Game of Thrones is one of the biggest shows on television with an incredibly rabid fanbase; unfortunately for those fans, the show has been off the air for almost an entire year now. Filming was delayed from its regular time for Season 7, and so we've been waiting and waiting for new episodes. We still have more than a month to go before the big premiere, but showrunner David Benioff has teased some exciting news about the Season 7 finale: it will be the longest episode of Game of Thrones to date.
The last episode of Season 7 will clock in at around 90 minutes. While the final run time hasn't been confirmed, the episode will evidently be significantly longer than the Game of Thrones episode that previously held the record for longest run time. That episode was the Season 6 finale that saw, among other things, Jon Snow becoming King in the North, Cersei Lannister burning the Great Sept of Baelor with most of her enemies still inside, and Arya serving Walder Frey some of his own kin for supper before murdering him as payback for the Red Wedding. Game of Thrones is clearly raising the stakes even higher for the second-to-last season, and I'd say we have a big reason to be excited for this year's finale.
Interestingly, the same season that will feature the longest Game of Thrones episode ever will also feature the shortest episode. Showrunner David Benioff revealed (via EW) that an episode of Season 7 will clock in at a mere 50 minutes. He didn't give away which episode will be the relatively short one, although we can rule out the finale and the premiere, which will run for 59 minutes.
HBO hasn't released too much footage from Season 7 so far, although the trailer was thrilling and a behind-the-scenes video gave us plenty to speculate about. The recent reveal that a certain Season 7 battle scene set so many stuntmen simultaneously on fire that Game of Thrones actually set a record at least means that we can count on plenty of dragon action courtesy of Dany and Drogon. Hopefully the show will back as much action and excitement into the seven episodes as possible, especially considering the fact that Season 8 could possibly be pushed back.
I'm definitely intrigued by the prospect of a season finale that runs for almost an hour and a half. Game of Thrones has always felt cinematic in scale, and such a long finale may end up feeling like a TV movie. Now that the show has outpaced the books, even readers can't say exactly what's going to happen. We're all in the same boat of waiting and seeing.
For a peek at what's to come, our breakdown of what we know so far about Game of Thrones Season 7 should help you out. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in TV news, and don't forget to check out our summer TV premiere schedule to discover all your viewing options now and in the coming weeks. Be sure to drop by our rundowns for cable/streaming and broadcast TV renewals and cancellations as well. If streaming is more your style, our Netflix premiere schedule will help you out.
