George RR Martin refused 'Game of Thrones' Season 8 cameo
What's the story
Game of Thrones, the popular HBO show will air its eighth and final season on April 14.
The show, which is significant in popular culture, is based on George RR Martin's series of novels titled A Song of Ice and Fire.
As a mark of respect to the creator, he was offered a cameo in the final season, but he turned it down.
Here's why.
Declined invitation
Martin turned down invitation from the showrunners
Martin was invited by none other than DB Weiss and David Benioff, the showrunners behind the hugely popular Game of Thrones series.
With the show ending, they probably thought it would be a good idea to have a cameo from the creator since the fans would enjoy the special appearance.
However, Martin turned down the invitation, as he told Entertainment Weekly in an interview.
Quote
Martin was 'tempted' but cameo was not on the cards
Martin said he was 'tempted' to take up the offer but it just was not meant to be. The author continued, "I didn't think just for the sake of a cameo I could take the time to return to Belfast".
Reason
Martin's decision comes from his need to complete the series
Martin's decision might be disappointing to some fans, but his stance is perfectly respectable.
As we had reported, the author said he was committed to finishing A Song of Ice and Fire series, despite having to deal with the burdens of fan expectations while writing the new novel.
Thus, he has to forego other commitments like cameos and conventions to work on the book.
Previous cameo
There is, however, a picture from Martin's first cameo
For those who were really eager to see Martin in Game of Thrones, there is a picture from his cameo in Season 1.
The cameo and the scene were since then chucked as Tamzin Merchant was replaced by Emilia Clarke to play the role of Daenerys Targaryen.
However, Martin played a small role as a merchant attending the wedding of Daenerys to Khal Drogo.
Twitter Post
You can check out the picture of Martin's cameo, here
Treasures of Northern Ireland: As we’ve noted in our recent Game of Thrones news roundup, Linda and I were away to Northern Ireland this past weekend on a trip sponsored by Tourism NI to see the Winterfell Festival at the beautiful Castle Ward estate… https://t.co/e8IApADoNx pic.twitter.com/QgVk7J1xbk
— Elio Linda (@westerosorg) September 19, 2018