GRRM interview w/ Mo Ryan; confirms Merchant out as Dany
Maureen Ryan of the Chicago-Tribune has posted her full interview with George R. R. Martin and confirms what many people have suspected: Tamzin Merchant will not be returning in the role of Daenarys Targaryen. The interview, which was teased by Ryan and GRRM shortly after the C2E2 con, is lengthy and contains questions and answers about not just Game of Thrones, but various topics including old theaters, vampires, and fan communities. Below is a snippet:
Ryan: How closely involved are you in the making of the show? I know you’re writing the eighth script, is that correct?
Martin: My deal calls for me to write one script this season. It’s script eight this year and next year, I’ll do another one if we get another season. I really can’t do more than that because I still have the [next ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’] books to write. The books take an enormous amount of time. There’s a part of me that would love to be more involved than I am involved, attending the meetings and all that, but I can’t. Even if they wanted me, which I’m not sure they would, but I can’t. So my level of involvement is great. I have a great communication with David and Dan and with the people at HBO and I certainly feel like I’m part of the process, but they’re the showrunners and the buck stops with them, not with me.
Winter Is Coming: Well I can’t say I’m surprised about Merchant. We knew they were auditioning, so it seemed pointless to go through the whole audition process without actually planning on going through with a recast. I had started to warm up to Tamzin as Dany, so I am a little disappointed. But I’m excited to see who will replace her. I hope, if the future Dany reads this site, she has thick skin as any choice is almost certainly going to meet some level of criticism.
About the interview, outside of the Dany news, nothing too earth-shattering. But it is still great to see the show and the books continue to get good press. Mo Ryan has been great at getting exclusive Thrones info and updates and I’m happy to see her continue to lead the way amongst TV journalists in that department.
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