Video: Game of Thrones fan uses AI to depict the birth of Lady Stoneheart

A Game of Thrones has used AI to bring a missing storyline to life, giving fans a tease of what it could've looked like if we got to see it played out on screen.

Game of Thrones made several alterations to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire saga. That was partly a given, considering how Martin has, of course, not finished the series yet. The show made some changes to characters and storylines throughout the eight seasons, some of which came off better than others.

One omitted storyline that fans still complain about is Lady Stoneheart. As GoT fans know, the Red Wedding was one of the series’s most shocking moments as Robb Stark and his wife are massacred by the Freys on behalf of the Lannisters. Robb's mother, Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley), is last seen having her throat slit as the final victim.

That’s how it ends in the show. But as book readers know, Catelyn is resurrected as Lady Stoneheart, a zombie-like being whose only feeling is rage and revenge against everyone involved in this massacre. Fans had awaited the turn in the show, but it never happened. The decision to omit Lady Stoneheart was a controversial one, and Martin himself disliked it. Fans have long used fan art to imagine Lady Stoneheart. Now, one fan has taken it a step further:

Witness what Lady Stoneheart’s rise could’ve looked like

The X account King_Maegor utilized AI to show what could have been for the final scene of season 3. In the video, members of the Brotherhood Without Banners find Catelyn’s body in a riverbed, declaring “the Lord of Light” has guided them. Against his own objections, Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) bestows the Last Kiss onto Catelyn, which causes him to collapse.

While a wolf watches, Catelyn staggers to her feet, her eyes pitch black and hisses a single word: “Frey.” That would have set up a different season 4 of Lady Stoneheart on her path of vengeance, the Brotherhood at her side, and likely throwing a major wrench into the various struggles occurring in the North and King’s Landing.

Some fans will no doubt praise this video, arguing it should have been the real direction of the show. Having Stoneheart around would have sparked awesome storylines, especially a reunion with Arya and Sansa, and perhaps playing a role in the Lannisters’ downfall.

It’s a fun scene to watch… but it also begs the question of how far is too far when it comes to AI.

Should we be okay with AI use like this?

There’s been a lot written about the rise of AI and its use of real people for videos. See the controversy over a fake fight scene between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. It’s one thing for fans to use it for a fake trailer; that’s not much different than editing movie scenes as it’s been done for years. But this is something else.

It’s not like Game of Thrones is alone here. Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel, and The Lord of the Rings have likewise been subjected to fans using AI to craft deleted/altered scenes, imagining “in-between” moments, and more. Indeed, Disney just moved to prevent some AI programs from using characters they own in the prompts to curb this type of video.

This goes way beyond fanfiction or fan art. This is using Fairley’s likeness and voice without her consent (or likely knowledge) to create their own story. While it looks decent, it also shows how this technology has become more prevalent, and some would say dangerous.

The ethics of this raises many questions. Is it okay to use someone’s likeness like this without permission?

While fans may enjoy seeing this video and imagining what could have been with Lady Stoneheart, the video itself adds to the ethical debate of using AI for such things and the troubling aspects of fandom.

Game of Thrones is streaming on HBO Max.