It'll be a cold winter waiting for Game of Thrones Season 7 next summer, but that didn't stop the ever-expanding cast from assembling at Comic-Con 2016 to excite fans and tease what's ahead. Filming won't begin until later this year, but what major details did the major Game-players reveal from the assembled cast in San Diego? Our full panel report!

The packed-to-the-gills presentation included among its panel the likes of showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, director Michael Sapochnik, and stars John Bradley, Liam Cunningham, Nathalie Emmanuel, Isaac Hemptstead Wright, Conleth Hill, Faye Marsay , Kristian Nairn, Iwan Rheon and Sophie Turner. Here's what they had to say:

  • The panel opened with Always Sunny moderator Rob McElhenney introducing a video of he and Charlie Day cut into Game of Thrones scenes, but also a montage of the endless “Winter is Coming” references. If nothing else, the panel and all its participants made sure to stress “Winter is here.”
  • Kristian Nairn got a massive ovation with cheers of “Hold the door,” and deservedly so. The creators also acknowledged that they’d known about the Hodor twist for years, but the books will still arrive at that conclusion differently.
  • Director Miguel Sapochnik reiterated some points about the “Battle of the Bastards,” notably that the scripted climax featured Jon’s army encircled by horses, but it was too difficult to pull off. Sapochnik won’t direct any Season 7 episodes, but very much hopes to return for Season 8, while Dan Weiss nodded as much.
  • John Bradley teased that Sam would never die in battle, but could potentially tip backwards off a bookshelf in the Citadel library. All men must die.
  • Conleth Hill (Varys) shook out his glorious silver hair, noting that hasn’t had to cut it for filming just yet.
  • Sophie Turner noted that Sansa very much wanted the credit and dramatic flair for her entrance with Littlefinger, hence not telling Jon before the Battle of the Bastards. She also believes Sansa and Jon should be King and Queen in the North, as Jon lacks the experience to run Winterfell by himself.
  • Waif actress Faye Marsay finally put an end to the “Braavosi Fight Club” rumor, saying “Arya is Arya.” The producers gave a less-encouraging “no comment.”
  • Sophie Turner amusingly got a “shame” chant for suggesting Littlefinger end up on the Iron Throne.
  • Isaac Hempstead-Wright joked that he can’t imagine how Jon would react to either news of his parents, or Bran becoming a “tree wizard.”
  • That is a MAJOR ix-nay on Jon/Sansa shipping, everyone.
  • Blooper reel!

Elsewhere of Game of Thrones Season 7, we know that filming will begin later this year for a summer 2017 premiere, and reduced to seven episodes at that. A list of directors for the year has also been announced, while at least a portion of filming will take place in Iceland in early 2017.

We'll learn more in the coming weeks and months, but what other Game of Thrones surprises can we expect of Season 7?

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