We’re used to returning to Westeros sometime in the spring, in early to mid-April (Season 3 even came to us in March!), but it appears that Game of Thrones Season 7 may see more of a delay as winter descends, quite literally.

Though Season 6 also had a later start date than usual (April 24th), evidently we should brace ourselves for more of the same in 2017. Since Season 6 ended with foreboding conclusion that winter is not just coming, it’s here, it stands to reason that Season 7 will see more of a focus on wintry landscapes. In the UFC Unfiltered podcast (via HitFix) showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff said that those conditions will definitely affect filming:

“We don’t have an air date yet,” Benioff and Weiss said. “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 any more. 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.”

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Image via HBO

Just how far down the line are we talking? How much of Westeros is going to be covered in snow? Winterfell and as far down as the Riverlands maybe, but King’s Landing? Dorne?

There’s no specificity yet, but I’ll speculate that the premiere could be even be late May. Let’s hope it’s not any later than that — given the fact that the next season will only be 7 episodes, it's like insult to injury. Stay tuned for more information from San Diego Comic Con though, as the Game of Thrones panel might reveal some more details about the upcoming season.

In the meantime, catch up on our recent Game of Thrones coverage below:

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Image via HBO
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Image via HBO
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Image via HBO
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Image via HBO