Game of Thrones season 7
The seventh season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones premiered on HBO on July 16, 2017, and concluded on August 27, 2017. Unlike previous seasons, which consisted of ten episodes each, the seventh season consisted of only seven episodes. Like the previous season, it largely consisted of original content not found in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, while also incorporating material that Martin revealed to showrunners about the upcoming novels in the series. The series was adapted for television by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.
The penultimate season focuses on the convergence of the show's main plots in preparation for the final season. Daenerys Targaryen arrives in Westeros with her army and three large dragons and begins to wage war against the Lannisters, who have defeated her allies in the south and west of Westeros. Jon Snow leaves Sansa in charge of Winterfell and visits Daenerys to secure her help to defeat the White Walkers and the Army of the Dead. He mines the dragonglass at Dragonstone and begins a romance with Daenerys. Arya and Bran return home to Winterfell; the Starks kill the treacherous Littlefinger. Tyrion persuades Daenerys not to destroy King's Landing, reminding her that she does not want to be simply a queen of ashes. Instead, Jon goes north of the wall to capture a wight to prove to Cersei that the fearsome army of the dead exist and are coming; in doing so, his group is pinned down and nearly killed. Daenerys rescues them with her dragons but the Night King kills one of her dragons and makes it part of his army. The undead dragon later destroys part of the Wall and the dead march through. Bran learns that Jon is really his cousin, Aegon Targaryen, the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne.
HBO ordered the seventh season on April 21, 2016, three days before the premiere of the show's sixth season and began filming on August 31, 2016. The season was filmed primarily in Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia and Iceland. Game of Thrones features a large ensemble cast, including Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington. The season introduces several new cast members, including Jim Broadbent and Tom Hopper. The series received 22 nominations for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards and won for Outstanding Drama Series and Dinklage won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Episodes
Cast
Main cast
Guest cast
The recurring actors listed here are those who appeared in season 7. They are listed by the region in which they first appear.In the North, including the Wall
- Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion
- Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr
- Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett
- Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed
- Bella Ramsey as Lyanna Mormont
- Tim McInnerny as Robett Glover
- Megan Parkinson as Alys Karstark
- Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne
- Richard Rycroft as Maester Wolkan
- Rupert Vansittart as Yohn Royce
Beyond the Wall
- Vladimir Furdik as the Night King
- Joseph Mawle as Benjen Stark
- Neil Fingleton as giant wight
- Ian Whyte as giant wight
In the Riverlands
- David Bradley as Walder Frey
- Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie
In King's Landing
- Pilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjoy
- Anton Lesser as Qyburn
- Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Gregor Clegane
- James Faulkner as Randyll Tarly
- Tom Hopper as Dickon Tarly
- Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris
In Oldtown
- Jim Broadbent as Archmaester Ebrose
At Dragonstone
- Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm
- Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell
- Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy
- Jessica Henwick as Nymeria Sand
- Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand
- Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand
- Brendan Cowell as Harrag
- Staz Nair as Qhono
In flashbacks
- Aisling Franciosi as Lyanna Stark
- Wilf Scolding as Rhaegar Targaryen
- Robert Aramayo as Eddard Stark
Production
Crew
Series creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss serve as showrunners for the seventh season. The directors for the seventh season are Jeremy Podeswa, Mark Mylod, Matt Shakman and Alan Taylor. This marks Taylor's return to the series after an absence since the second season. Shakman is a first-time Game of Thrones director, with the rest each having directed multiple episodes in previous seasons. Michele Clapton returned to the show as costume designer, after spending some time away from the show in the sixth season. She previously worked on the show for the first five seasons, as well as the end of the sixth season.Writing
The seventh season contains original material not found in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Some of the show's sixth season also consists of material revealed to the writers of the television series during discussions with Martin.Filming
Filming began on August 31, 2016, at Titanic Studios in Belfast, and ended in February 2017. In an interview with the showrunners, it was announced that the filming of the seventh season would be delayed until later in the year due to necessary weather conditions for filming. The showrunners stated "We're starting a bit later because, you know, at the end of this season, winter is here, and that means that sunny weather doesn't really serve our purposes any more. We kind of pushed everything down the line so we could get some grim, gray weather even in the sunnier places that we shoot."Girona, Spain, did not return as one of the filming locations. Girona stood in for Braavos and parts of King's Landing. It was later announced that the seventh season would film in Northern Ireland, Spain and Iceland, with filming in Northern Ireland beginning in August 2016. The series filmed in the Spanish cities Seville, Cáceres, Almodóvar del Río, Santiponce, Zumaia and Bermeo. Spanish sources announced that the series would be filming the seventh season on Muriola Beach in Barrika, Las Atarazanas, the Royal Dockyards of Seville and at the shores of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, an islet belonging to the city of Bermeo. The series returned to film at The Dark Hedges in Stranocum, which was previously used as the Kingsroad in the second season. Some scenes were filmed in Iceland. Filming also occurred in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which is used for location of King's Landing. The scene where Arya was reunited with Nymeria was filmed in Alberta, Canada.
Casting
Deadline reported on June 21, 2016, that the five main cast members, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, and Kit Harington had been in contract negotiations for the final two seasons. It was reported that the cast members have increased their salary to $500,000 per episode for the seventh and eighth season. It was later reported that the actors had gone through a renegotiation, for which they had increased their salary to $1.1 million per episode for the last two seasons.On August 31, 2016, Entertainment Weekly reported that Jim Broadbent had been cast for the seventh season in a "significant" role. It was announced that the role of Dickon Tarly has been recast, with Tom Hopper replacing Freddie Stroma, who had previously played the role in "Blood of My Blood". The seventh season sees the return of Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris, who did not appear in the sixth season, Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie, who last appeared in the fourth season, and Joe Dempsie as Gendry, who last appeared in the third season and maintains his status as starring cast member. Members of the British indie pop band Bastille were reported to have filmed cameo appearances. British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran also makes a cameo appearance in the season. Frontman of American heavy metal band Mastodon, Brent Hinds, has also revealed he would have a cameo appearance. This is Hinds' second cameo in the series, following his appearance in the fifth season. New York Mets baseball pitcher Noah Syndergaard made a background cameo as a javelin-throwing Lannister soldier in "The Spoils of War."