Game of Thrones blames delayed episodes on winter

Game of Thrones showrunner David Benioff told fans at Comic-Con International on Friday a delay in screening the new series had been unavoidable, because “winter is here.”

The hit fantasy epic has been teasing winter’s arrival since its pilot episode, and with the season six finale entitled The Winds of Winter, the camera crew has been forced to wait for colder weather.

“Winter is here, and we’ve got to shoot in places with trees and wait for the leaves to turn,” Benioff told Comic-Con’s packed 6,5000-seat Hall H.

He was joined at the San Diego fanfest by cast members, including Liam Cunningham, Sophie Turner and the departing Kristian Nairn, as well as director Miguel Sapochnik. Benioff and co-showrunner D.B. Weiss had already announced a shortened run of episodes for the final two seasons while HBO has confirmed Season 7 will return in the summer of 2017. The show usually premieres in April, but Benioff said the later start would allow more time to film during colder weather.

He told the Comic-Con crowd the show would not finish shooting until February and that “there’s no way to get the show out there until summer.”