Just days before the ‘Game of Thrones’ panel is set to take place at San Diego Comic-Con International, and one day after the series garnered the most Emmy nominations ever for a single show in one season (32), showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have dropped out of appearing. And they aren’t the only ones. Director and executive producer Miguel Sapochnik, and cast members Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) and Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei) will also be absent.
So who will be present? Fans can still look forward to appearances by Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), John Bradley (Sam), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime), Liam Cunningham (Davos), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran), Conleth Hill (Varys), and Maisie Williams (Arya). Coster-Waldau and Williams were among the nine actors from ‘GoT’ to receive Emmy nominations.
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The lineup change was announced in a message from the ‘GoT’ Twitter account:
The #GoTSDCC panel taking place Friday, 7/19 at 5:30PM in Hall H will now consist of panelists @Maisie_Williams, @RaleighRitchie, @nikolajcw, @isaac_h_wright, @johnbradleywest, @liamcunningham1 & Conleth Hill.
Follow our ravens for updates.
— Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) July 17, 2019
When the ‘GoT’ panel was first announced, it was believed that Benioff and Weiss would not be present as they have moved on to working on Disney’s next ‘Star Wars’ trilogy. But it was later stated that they would attend. It’s no secret that a lot of people hated the last season of ‘GoT’, so it would make sense if they wanted to avoid flying tomatoes, but after the windfall of Emmy nominations, that might have smoothed things over. While no reasons were given for any of the withdrawals, it’s not hard to imagine that ‘Star Wars’ was likely the reason for Benioff and Weiss’ absence.
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Glen is portraying Batman/Bruce Wayne in the new season of ‘Titans’ which is now in production in Toronto. Emmanuel is now filming the ninth ‘Fast and Furious’ movie so that probably explains their absences.
Even so, it doesn’t look like some of the show’s biggest stars– including Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Heady, Gwendoline Christie, and Sophie Turner– were ever going to appear.
Are you planning to attend? Are you upset at any of these cancellations?
The ‘Game of Thrones’ panel is set to be held in Hall H, Friday, July 19, at 5:30 pm.
