Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones may have fewer episodes to premiere in Season 7, but there’s always room for a musical cameo. This time out, minstrel Ed Sheeran will sing Westeros a song, as the “Shape of You” singer now reveals the circumstance and scene partner of his appearance.

Those celebrating 420 won’t be the only ones blowing smoke today. Game of Thrones Season 7 looks ready to burn it all down in our first official photos from the July premiere, and no ice block will stand in our way this time.

It’s difficult to say when Game of Thrones might finally thaw some Season 7 footage out of the ice block, but we needn’t wait so long to see our favorite characters again. Check out some of the new Season 7 looks in a bizarre HBO promo for all the network’s stars.

No longer must Game of Thrones fans stare at a block of ice for a CG teaser: Season 7 is here! See Cersei, Daenerys and Jon Snow get some fresh threads in a new “Long Walk” teaser for the July premiere, complete with chilly twist.

Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Game of Thrones’ Stannis Baratheon went out in particularly Stannis-fashion; committed to a losing battle, and accepting Brienne would do her “duty” to put him down. That said, a new script page making the rounds shows a very different end for the would-be King, one filled with regret.

Game of Thrones understandably has to build hype year after year, especially when a penultimate season keeps fans waiting later than usual. Bless their hearts, HBO even tried to make Season 7’s premiere reveal special with a giant block of ice, though star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau says producers found the failed stunt “embarrassing.”

Game of Thrones fans never lack for dragon appreciation, but there are diminishing returns to their escalation in size, and difficulty to portray onscreen. Leave it to Season 7 to make them even bigger, now estimating Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal to be the size of commercial jets.

What Game of Thrones Season 7 apparently lost in a UFC fighter it gained in a New York Mets pitcher, but don’t worry about Season 7 forgoing the traditional cameo from the music world. Ed Sheeran will put in a likely-covert appearance with the penultimate season, to Maisie Williams’ delight.

It’s taken this long for Game of Thrones to confirm a Season 7 premiere, and lips might finally now be loosening. Straight out of SXSW, Thrones bosses David Benioff and Dan Weiss confirm an even shorter episode order for the eighth and final season.

Considering the scale by which Game of Thrones increases each year (remember when they had to skip a battle in Season 1?), something had to give by the time we reached Season 7. That turned out to lower production to seven episodes at a later timetable, but star Kit Harington promises the money was well-spent on a “much bigger” scale of production.

We’re way out in the woods on Game of Thrones this year, lacking a summer premiere or any sense of how Season 7 will start wrapping up George R.R. Martin’s incomplete saga. Still, were there any doubt Fire would meet Ice this year, allow the first poster to make that point literally.

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin wouldn’t dare confirm The Winds of Winter to be published in 2017, but fans of the Song of Ice and Fire franchise will nonetheless get a new corner of Westeros to explore in print. Martin confirms that previously-unread short “The Sons of the Dragon” will see the light of day in a new 2017 fantasy anthology.