HBO announced that Game of Thrones season seven will not air until Summer 2017. The New York Times reports that the company also confirmed that only seven episodes will be shot.
Historically, each season consists of ten episodes and the premiere episodes are released in the Spring time. According to Esquire Magazine, Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Lena Headey have signed contracts to stay on for season seven and season eight. The deals do not guarantee that these actors’ characters will survive until the series finale.
Here’s more from Vanity Fair: “The big question among die-hard Game of Thrones fans is whether the delayed premiere date will mean that George R.R. Martin will have a shot at releasing his new book, The Winds of Winter, before the Season 7 premiere. Next summer will likely come sooner than we all expect, but Martin now has a few more months to get that next novel up and out.” (via Mashable)