Yesterday, we saw a critical mass of Game of Thrones stars pop up in Seville, leading to all kinds of questions. This seems like a good time to take stock and consider them, but first, we got out clearest look at the assembled cast and crew members yet when a bunch of them attended a match between Real Madrid C.F. and Sevilla FC at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. Check it out:
"[NO SPOILERS] Game of thrones cast with Seville soccer team from gameofthrones"
So among that crowd are Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Conleth Hill (Varys), John Bradley (Sam Tarly), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Nicolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Joe Dempsie (Gendry), Vladimir Furdik (the Night King) and showrunner Dan Weiss. Other cast and crew members have been sighted around town, including showrunner David Benioff, Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Lino Facioli (Robin Arryn), Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H’ghar) and Faye Marsay (the Waif).
That’s a lot of Game of Thrones heavyweights in one place. What are they all gathered in Seville to do? Let’s hit a few theories.
THEORY ONE: Every one of these cast and crew members will be involved in a shoot at the nearby ruins of Italica, best known to fans as the Dragonpit of King’s Landing. We saw a huge meeting between characters there in the season 7 finale, and we’ll see another one come season 8. The fact that Benioff and Weiss are present indicates that the scene or scenes may be from the series finale, since they’re directing it.
Why would characters like the Waif (who’s dead) and Jaqen H’ghar (who’s apparently been written out) appear at the Dragonpit? Perhaps the Faceless Men are making a comeback — after all, any of them could presumably wear the Waif’s face, even if Arya killed the last girl to don it. Or perhaps Arya is donning some faces herself.
THEORY TWO: Some of these cast members will film scenes at the Dragonpit, but others are here either as a deliberate attempt to confuse fans, something the producers have been known to do (never forget the time they brought Sibel Kekelli back onto set and made it look like Shae was going to appear in season 6), or because the production is throwing an end-of-series party for cast members past and present, or both.
We think the second theory is more likely, as we have a hard time believing the Waif and Jaqen H’ghar would return at this point in the game. We’re also giving the side-eye to Facioli and Furdik, neither of whom we can quite imagine at the Dragonpit. But at the end of the day, we don’t know anything for certain.
This all raises another question: if the production truly is getting ready to shoot scenes for the series finale, what does that say about the cast members who aren’t here? Are their characters doomed? Kit Harington (Jon Snow) and Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) have been rumored to be in the area or headed there, but there have been no sightings, to say nothing of photographic proof. Given how open everyone else has been about appearing in pictures, that’s worth noting. And then there are plenty of cast members who are completely absent, including Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Anton Lesser (Qyburn), Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (the Mountain), Rory McCann (the Hound), Daniel Portman (Podrick Payne), Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane), Richard Dormer (Beric Dondarrion), Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy) and Pilou Asbæk (Euron Greyjoy).
Man, this show has a lot of characters.
Anyway, feel free to discuss what import, if any, this all has below. We’ll be watching for more as filming at the Dragonpit heats up.
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