Game of Thrones season 7 episode 1 runtime revealed, longest premiere since the pilot

As the episode count goes down, the episode length could be going up

HBO has finally started feeding the anticipation for Game of Thrones season 7 in the past couple of weeks with a proper trailer, posters and now a runtime for the first episode.

At just 50 minutes, season 6's opener, 'The Red Woman', was a little short given the wait for it, with first episodes averaging at around 55 minutes.

S07E01 will be a bumper episode however, with the HBO site listing it as 59 minutes long. There's no word on its title yet.

With the show dropping down from 10 to seven episode this season, this could suggest that each episode will be given a little more time to play out.

The cast have recently been talking about how, despite the shorter season length, they've been doing more filming than ever.

“When I first read this season I thought: ‘Damn, I gotta learn some lines!’” Emilia Clarke told EW. “We’re actually filming longer now. I don’t know how that’s happening.”

Peter Dinklage had a similar experience, adding: “I’ve worked more days this season than I have in quite some time," with co-showrunner D.B. Weiss clearing up the logical reason for it.

Game of Thrones season 7 arrives on HBO and Sky Atlantic on 16 July.