Game of Thrones Season 8 to begin filming much later than usual

Game of Thrones is on the cusp of wrapping up its penultimate season, but naturally, as one thing ends, we turn our attention to what's next. By now, we know that Season 8 will be Game of Thrones' last and that it will be the shortest, clocking in at six episodes. But, unlike past seasons, Season 8 has yet to begin filming, but as reported by Collider, this is by design.

Now that Winter is here, the showrunners have needed to shoot primarily on location during the real-world winter months, and as such filming will begin later than usual per Jaime Lannister himself, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

He said:

"I knew what was going to happen for the first three seasons. After that, it’s been a season at a time. You get the scripts a month before we start shooting, or six weeks, and then you know what’s going to happen that season. But, I don’t know what’s going to happen next season. We go back in October, so maybe in the next few weeks, we’ll get the scripts and I’ll find out. I’m very curious."

In past seasons, shooting has taken about five to six months to complete, including the shortened Season 7. So assuming that they take the same amount of time filming, six months from October puts them at an April 2018 wrap. Post-production goes for about another five months, so that would leave a September 2018 premiere at the earliest. 

This is not to say that September 2018 is a definite timeframe (though it would put the show in line to compete with other major Fall TV), Game of Thrones could potentially benefit more from having the summer months mostly all to itself to maximize viewership.

Game of Thrones Season 7 wraps up next week on August 27th, 2017.

Source: [Collider]