'Game of Thrones' season 7 release date, spoilers news: Premiere will be delayed; Jon Snow, Davos Seaworth to face bloody battle?

Dan Weiss and David Benioff are cooking something up for "Game of Thrones" season 7. The showrunners have announced that next season will come at a later date than the customary April premiere. Some fans may get slightly miffed with this development, but it is for an entirely plausible reason.

In a podcast interview with UFC Unfiltered, the series creators admitted to not having a specific date yet for the premiere of "Game of Thrones" season 7 but confirmed the show will be coming out at a late juncture in 2017. They also explained their reasons.

"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 any more."

They went on to say that they would be wanting some "grim grey weather" to shoot in.

It may be perfect-sounding, but fans may find little consolation especially that the number of episodes this season is trimmed down to seven instead of the accustomed ten.

Jack Bender, who directed "The Door" from season 6, unwittingly revealed this piece of information during an interview with Vanity Fair.

"They're only doing seven [episodes], and they've got their regulars who have done it forever."

Added to that is the looming fact that next season will be the second to the last. Season 8, which will air sometime in 2018, will be the culmination of the show.

Talk of bloody and mighty war though may stir up fans after such dismal updates, and it appears that, after last season's battle, viewers can expect another one just as tremendous. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) will be major players in it.

Cunningham made mention of his preparations, confirming this war will be a major one; otherwise, why would the actor be in earnest training with John Kavanagh?

For the uninitiated, Kavanagh is one of the greatly extolled coaches for Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) fighters who train in various disciplines such as the martial arts, wrestling, boxing, judo, etc. He coaches Conor McGregor, and now, Cunningham too.

Kavanagh posted snapshots and a video of himself with Cunningham during training sessions.

On Twitter, the coach posted, "Off to teach Davos Seaworth unarmed combat in case he loses his sword. Seriously."

On Instagram, he shared a video along with the caption, "If he loses his sword he's just as dangerous. #SirDavos#gameofthrones"

At least Lord Snow will have a worthy sword beside him come season 7 of "Game of Thrones."