<P> Deadline reported on June 21, 2016, that the five main cast members, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster - Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, and Kit Harington had been in contract negotiations for the final two seasons . It was reported that the cast members have increased their salary to $500,000 per episode for the seventh and eighth season . It was later reported that the actors had gone through a renegotiation, for which they had increased their salary to $1.1 million per episode for the last two seasons . </P> <P> On August 31, 2016, Entertainment Weekly reported that Jim Broadbent had been cast for the seventh season in a "significant" role . It was announced that the role of Dickon Tarly has been recast, with Tom Hopper replacing Freddie Stroma, who had previously played the role in "Blood of My Blood". The seventh season sees the return of Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris, who did not appear in the sixth season, Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie, who last appeared in the fourth season, and Joe Dempsie as Gendry, who last appeared in the third season and maintains his status as starring cast member . Members of the British indie pop band Bastille were reported to have filmed cameo appearances . British singer - songwriter Ed Sheeran also makes a cameo appearance in the season . Guitarist / vocalist of American heavy metal band Mastodon, Brent Hinds, has also revealed he would have a cameo appearance . This is Hinds' second cameo in the series, following his appearance (along with bandmates Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher) in the fifth season . </P> <P> On April 21, 2016, HBO officially ordered the seventh season of Game of Thrones, just three days prior to the premiere of the show's sixth season . According to an interview with co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the seventh season would likely consist of fewer episodes, stating at the time of the interview that they were "down to our final 13 episodes after this season . We're heading into the final lap ." Director Jack Bender, who worked on the show's sixth season, said that the seventh season would consist of seven episodes . Benioff and Weiss stated that they were unable to produce 10 episodes in the show's usual 12 to 14 month time frame, as Weiss said "It's crossing out of a television schedule into more of a mid-range movie schedule ." HBO confirmed on July 18, 2016, that the seventh season would consist of seven episodes, and would premiere later than usual in mid-2017 because of the later filming schedule . Later it was confirmed that the season would debut on July 16 . According to a report by Entertainment Weekly, the seventh season of the series includes its longest episode, with the finale running for 81 minutes . The penultimate episode also runs for 71 minutes--around 16 minutes longer than an average Game of Thrones episode . The first five episodes mostly run longer than average (55 minutes), at 59, 59, 63, 50, and 59 minutes respectively . The previous longest episode in the series was the sixth - season finale, "The Winds of Winter", which ran 69 minutes . </P> <P> On July 23, 2016, a teaser production trailer was released by HBO at the 2016 San Diego Comic - Con . The trailer mostly consisted of voice overs, and shots of crew members creating sets and props . The first footage from the season was revealed in a new promotional video released by HBO highlighting its new and returning original shows for the coming year on November 28, 2016, showcasing Jon Snow, Sansa Stark and Arya Stark . </P>

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