Game of Thrones producer: Dany in Westeros changes everything

For more on Game of Thrones buy all five covers now, or select individual issues featuring the group shot, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Sansa Stark, or Bran Stark. To purchase the Stark family cover, Barnes & Noble will be the exclusive retailer beginning May 30.

Winter is here! Entertainment Weekly pulls back the veil on HBO’s ultra-mysterious seventh season of Game of Thrones and stages a reunion of the surviving Starks.

Separated on the hit series since the very first episode, we brought together Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), and Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) for five collectible covers.

Inside the issue, we journey to Northern Ireland and Spain to get the scoop on this summer’s eagerly awaited seven new episodes — the show’s fastest-paced and most lavishly produced season yet. The Thrones team, led by showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss, spent just as many months to create seven episodes as they typically spend making 10.

GALLERY: See exclusive photos from our Stark family reunion

“I know you probably get sick of hearing us say this, we say it every year, but everybody steps up their game this season,” Benioff says. “It’s kind of astounding to us. In every department, from the acting to the effects, everybody constantly improves.”

For more on this week’s cover story, watch EW The Show, available now, on the new PEOPLE/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the free app on your Smart TV, mobile and web devices.

Expect massive dragons and even bigger battles (on sea and land). But the aspect that will have fans buzzing the most is who meets who this season. For the first time in the show’s history, all the main characters will be in Westeros — and most of them are itching to kill each other.

“What’s most exciting this season is being able to play interactions between various characters that for years we haven’t been able to play,” Weiss teases.

Put another way: Once Dany and her dragons disembark in Lannister-controlled Westeros the only logical outcome is all hell breaking loose — and it does.

“Dany in Westeros makes Game of Thrones a new show,” co-executive producer Bryan Cogman declares. “It has this amazing ripple effect throughout every storyline that’s very exciting to explore. There’s a pace and urgency that’s very palpable. This is the end game.”

See the five covers below — and buy all five covers now. Game of Thrones returns July 16 on HBO.