The last six episodes of "Game of Thrones" has started filming, but the entire production will not finish until the summer of 2018.
Outcries from fans should be understandable to HBO since this announcement means that there is a high possibility that there will be no GoT season 8 airing next year. A spring 2019 air date may be too brutal and unbearable for fans.
Actor Liam Cunnigham, who plays the very sensible Davos Seaworth, said to TV Guide, "We're filming right up until summer. When you think about it, up until last season we'd have six months to do ten episodes, so we're doing way more than that for six months."
Cunninghan further added that longer filming days will mean that by the end of the production, there will be longer episodes. This is what fans have been asking for a very long time. If the quality of season 7 is any hint, then fans will be treated for the best series finale that no one would be expecting.
Since the different and separate stories, "Game of Thrones" is starting to mold into one. Filming scenes for Winterfell, King's Landing, and Dragonstone simultaneously cannot be done anymore with the same efficiency it had with season 5 or 6. Save for Cersei Lannister, every major player of show is headed to the North. Although there is seemingly one location for the filming, the different character storylines remain, which have been one of the driving factors of the show since season 1.
Season 6's "Battle of the Bastards" took 25 days to film, and this was just a story arc for Kit Harrington's character, Jon Snow. "The Dragon and the Wolf" season 7 finale aired for 78 minutes and 43 seconds. Filming this epic episode will have taken the production staff months before the tapes went to the editing caves.
Furthermore, to prevent leaks that haunted season 7, HBO is planning to film multiple endings of the final season.
