GRRM: Blackfish not in first season
George R. R. Martin has made a post doing his customary recap of the actors cast in Game of Thrones so far, this time covering the characters in the Vale. Near the end of the post, he touches on a subject many fans have been wondering about since HBO first released the fact sheet.
A few last words about a part that has NOT been cast. Since the release of the HBO fact sheet last week, I’ve gotten several emails wanting to know about a role that was not listed — another knight of the Vale, Ser Brynden “Blackfish” Tully, uncle to both Lady Lysa and her sister Catelyn. Some of you wanted to know if he’d been dropped.
Not dropped, no. But, alas, his appearance has been postponed. Even with such a huge project as ours, there are budgetary constraints that require some characters to be cut, combined… or deferred to later seasons. That’s what is happening with the Blackfish. The plan, I am told, is to delay the introduction of the Tullys (Lord Hoster and Ser Edmure as well as Ser Brynden) until the second season. Brynden’s part in the events of A GAME OF THRONES will be filled in part by Ser Vardis Egen, and in part by Ser Rodrik Cassel.
This will upset the purists among you, I know. I regret that. But some changes of this sort are necessary whenever a book as big as mine is adapted to television or film. You will get your Blackfish eventually (assuming we get that second season). Just not now.
Winter Is Coming: I have to say I’m not surprised. With a cast this large, some characters had to be shuffled off to season two. I’m suspecting Lord Beric and Thoros may get the same treatment. The silver lining to this news is, if the show is a big success, we may just end up with a big name or two for these key roles.
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