The men primarily responsible for Game of Thrones won’t be attending San Diego Comic-Con after all. David Benioff and DB Weiss have pulled out of the show just two days before they were scheduled to appear in front of a crowd of thousands.
When the Comic-Con schedule came out earlier this month, fans were excited and surprised to see executive producers David Benioff and DB Weiss’ names on the list of attendees for the show’s Hall H panel.
Since the controversial end to the series, the showrunners have been very much off the grid, probably working on their upcoming Star Wars movies, and haven’t answered the many, many burning questions fans have about how it all ended. So, their appearance at Comic-Con was a huge point of interest as a chance for fans to finally get some of those answers, for better or for worse.
Then, on Twitter Thursday, HBO revealed there had been a few changes to the original line up.
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
So, no Benioff or Weiss as previously planned, and no Miguel Sapochnik, Iain Glen, or Nathalie Emmanuel.
Gizmodo contacted HBO about the change and a representative said “production and scheduling conflicts” forced the pair to removes themselves from the panel.
That could very well be the case, but many fans are sure to see this as the pair dodging possible criticism or venom that their choices in the final season may have created. The truth is though, even if fans don’t like what happened at the end of Game of Thrones, odds are everyone on that panel is sure to get a rousing ovation when they take the stage, and that would have included Benioff and Weiss.
A few questionable decisions won’t deter fans for thanking the team behind Game of Thrones for a decade of excellent television.
So, what’s going to happen? We’ll be there to report on it and stay tuned to Gizmodo for more Comic-Con updates.
[h/t Entertainment Weekly]