What do we know about Game of Thrones season 8?

We’re all focused on Game of Thrones season 7 right now, but season 8 will be here before you know it. What do we know about it?

Well, for starters, it might not be here before you know it. In fact, depending on who you listen to, it could be a while. When talking to HBO programming president Casey Bloys, Entertainment Weekly  asked if there was a possibility if season 8 might not air until 2019…and he didn’t say no. “[Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule,” he said. “We’ll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing.”

Game of Thrones season 7 will wrap up in August of this year. The idea of waiting over a year for the next season is…dispiriting. But let’s not jump to conclusions before we have word.

A late start would come as an extra blow because season 8 will only have six episodes. We’ve had 10 in every season so far, although this upcoming season will have only seven. But on the bright side, Game of Thrones sound designer Paula Fairfield has heard that all of them will be “feature-length.” I suppose having six 90-minute episodes — basically six movies — would take some of the sting out of getting fewer episodes later, but again, all of this is pretty unsettled at this point.

As for where season 8 will be filmed, it looks like the production will be heading back to Spain, where it filmed much of seasons 7 and 8. Potential new locations include the scenic Urueña Castle, in the Castile region — producers were seen scouting it not long ago. Take a virtual tour in the video below.

The production will also reportedly be returning to the Spanish city of Seville to shoot at its Royal Shipyards and at the nearby ruins of Italica, both locations it used to film crucial scenes for season 7.

Ruins of Italica. Image credit: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 4.0

What crucial scenes did it film there? We could tell you, but you wouldn’t want to be spoiled, would you?

Next: Every spoiler we know for Game of Thrones season 8

We’ll bring you all we learn about season 8 as we learn it. But until then, let’s enjoy the hype for season 7!