There Was A Big 'Game Of Thrones' Cameo On 'Westworld' Last Night
If you're watching Westworld this season, you probably noticed a big cameo on the most recent episode – one that effectively had HBO's current sci-fi series cross over with Game of Thrones. This crossover was a long time coming – the parties involved starting talking about it back in 2016. So how and why did it finally come together? Learn more about the Westworld Game of Thrones cameo below.
As you can see above, the big Game of Thrones cameo was...a dragon. Specifically, Daenerys Targaryen's dragon, Drogon. And Drogon was actually accompanied by two other cameos you might not have noticed: the two Westworld technicians chilling out with the dragon are none other than Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
The implications of this are a bit weird when you start to think about them. Does Game of Thrones exist in the Westworld universe, and is there a park that's specifically Game of Thrones-themed? If so, are there other HBO TV-themed parks we haven't seen yet? Is there a Sopranos world? A park devoted to The Wire, maybe? I want answers.
Westworld showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan sat down with Variety to talk about the surprise cameo, and reminded everyone that this was originally Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin's idea. Variety seems a little taken aback by this reveal, but it's not exactly news. The potential for a Westworld/Game of Thrones crossover was brought up back in 2016, with Joy and Nolan confirming Martin pitched the idea to them to EW.
At the time, the showrunners turned the idea down. "He's a lovely guy and a stunning writer and it's flattering he would encourage a crossover," Noland said. "We should be so lucky." And Joy added: "I need to believe that dragons are real. I want them be a real thing. So as much as I love George, I can't lose that for myself!"
Obviously, their minds changed over the last few years. "The crossover with the existing Medieval World in the original [Westworld] movie [released in 1973] was just irresistible," Nolan told Variety. "And the amount of people, starting with George, who over the years had pitched some version of a crossover. We just — we couldn't resist. And [David and Dan] were incredibly good sports about coming down."
Nolan and Joy also add that they've remained friendly with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for years, and that the Game of Thrones showrunners were more than happy to pop up in the episode. "I pitched it to them, as sort of, 'How would you guys feel about this?' And they thought it was great fun," Nolan said.