Los Angeles:  "Game of Thrones" showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss have revealed that the production on its upcoming season seven will start later than expected.

 

The duo, who made the remarks during a UFC podcast, said production is waiting for gloomy weather to return in a bid to capture the gloomy weather that comes with the "Winter is here" moment revealed in the season six finale," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

 

"We don't have an air date yet," the duo said. "We're starting a bit later because at the end of this season, 'Winter is here'  and that means that sunny weather doesn't really serve our purposes anymore. So we kind of pushed everything down the line, so we could get some grim, gray weather even in the sunnier places that we shoot."

 

"Game of Thrones" typically arrives in March or April. The series was renewed for a seventh season with an episode count still to be determined.

 

The showrunners previously said they were "writing the final act" for the adaptation of the George RR Martin series and are "looking at somewhere between 70 and 75 hours before the credits roll for the last time."

 

Also unclear is just how many episodes seasons seven and the likely eighth and final run will consist of. Thrones has already aired 60 episodes, meaning the remaining two seasons could be short orders to reach the 75 hours producers have envisioned.

 

The show ranks as HBO's most watched series ever and is the premium cabler's longest-running show currently on the air. It is expected to return sometime in 2017.