SAN DIEGO HBO’s “Game of Thrones” announced a bushel of new cast members during its panel Friday at Comic-Con, but the returning stars had plenty of opportunity to bask in fan adoration.
Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime Lannister, headlined a panel that included many co-stars, along with executive producers David Benioff and D.B. “Dan” Weiss and the man who wrote the books on which the series is based, George R.R. Martin.
Producers were mum about Season 5, which is just starting filming and won’t air until next year. Five directors are each overseeing two of the 10 episodes, Benioff told fans, who packed Comic-Con’s biggest hall to see the people who make the popular drama.
The producers and Martin were quick to note that the TV show and the book series, which Martin is still writing, run on separate tracks and one’s story can’t be used to predict events in the other. The audience seemed split between show fans who have read the books and those who haven’t.
“The show is the show and the books are the books and I keep them separate,” Martin said. (He offered a confession, too. The man who has created so many fascinating names and titles and is now making a larger map of his fantasy world said: “I’m running out of names.”)
A character’s survival in the book series doesn’t guarantee the same on the popular series. With so many characters, including the new ones, it’s easier to eliminate some, too.
“Some of us know roughly what happens in the book,” said Maisie Williams, who playsArya Stark. “I know Dan and David can kill characters who are still alive in the books, so I suck up to Dan and David and George and hope for the best.”
Some of the actors on the panel, including Pedro Pascal, Rose Leslie and Rory McCann, played characters who met their demise in what was a bloody season. Leslie, who played Ygritte,Oakley Ski Pants, and Harington discussed Ygritte’s death, which came in battle as she aimed her bow at Jon, and the love between their two characters.
“He’s just very happy to see her again,” he said. “He doesn’t really care if that arrow is loosed and he dies. He got to see her one last time.”
As she died, the two could communicate without talking. “That silence became very profound,” Leslie said. “It was a very beautiful moment.”
Fans got a treat with a film clip that introduced actors who will join what is already a huge cast.
The casting announcement made clear that “Thrones,” which introduced and then killed off Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) last season, is far from done with the Martells, the ruling family of the southern Westeros domain of Dorne.
New cast members include: Alexander Siddig as Doran Martell, lord of Dorne; Tony Sebastian as Trystane Martell, Doran’s son; Nell Tiger Free as Myrcella Baratheon,Cersei Lannister’s daughter, who was betrothed to Trystane; and DeObia Oparei asAreo Hotah, the captain of Doran’s palace guard.
But there’s more. Other additions include Enzo Cilenti as Yezzan, who was a wealthy slave trader before Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) outlawed the slave trade;Jessica Henwick as Nymeria “Nym” Sand, one of Oberyn’s daughters; Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand, an Oberyn daughter who wields twin daggers; Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand, another Oberyn daughter; and Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow, who came to King’s Landing to serve the poor and quickly amassed a large following.