Highlights from the Game of Thrones panel at CCXP, with David Benioff and Dan Weiss

Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss took the stage in Brazil today for a panel discussion at the Comic Con Experience (CCXP). Cast members Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and John Bradley (Samwell Tarley) joined them for a fun Q&A session.

The panel opened with a live orchestra playing the show’s opening theme:

The men, the myths, the legends appeared on stage, and welcomed Williams and Bradley to join them:

John Bradley recalled when he first realized Game of Thrones could become something special:

Maisie Williams’ first Game of Thrones memory was a sweet one:

And what of casting, Benioff and Weiss?

If the role of Arya was hard to cast, Maisie Williams erased Benioff and Weiss’ fears when she got in front of the camera. Quoth Dan Weiss, per the HBO Brazil Twitter account:

"I remember, at the beginning of the recordings, when she was still small and we only had 3 more minutes of sunshine to record a scene and more than 100 people on the team… she needed to hit first. And that’s exactly what she did."

Soon, the panelists got down to discussing the important questions:

This next one may have been the most interesting thing to come out of the panel:

So they’ve had a long time to plan. Here’s hoping season 8 is worthy of the build-up.

Next, the discussion turned to weaponry.

Naturally, Maisie Williams said she missed Arya’s sword, Needle.

Finally, HBO premiered a cool CGI promo teaser for the show’s final season:

If April could be here now, that would be great.

To stay up to date on everything Game of Thrones, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels