It began innocently enough. Right before Labor Day weekend, German website Bild picked up a rumor that Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote) had recently been cast in the upcoming season of HBO”s hit show Game of Thrones. Citing “production circles,” Lansbury allegedly had four days planned on set as a guest star in two episodes. By yesterday, the story was everywhere.
Game of Thrones is perhaps the biggest television show in the world right now. So, of course, any news during the production drought will get a lot of play. Especially news about a famous actress. But is it true? No one will say. Which says a lot.
Immediately upon hearing the rumor yesterday, I reached out to HBO for any official comment. A representative for the network responded to say, “Unfortunately, we can”t confirm…we don”t discuss plot points or casting.” An expected reply. But there”s more than one way to skin a cat get a quote. After some phone tag, a rep for Angela Lansbury at Zero Gravity Management told me officially they have “No comment.” Someone on Lansbury”s team also told EW that the rumors are “not accurate.”
That”s a lot of people being pretty vague. So, one of three things is happening here. Angela Lansbury is not going to be in Game of Thrones Season 7. But if that”s the case, why not just come out and say it? In the game of PR, there's a world of difference between “not happening” and “not accurate”. So perhaps Lansbury is still “in talks” to be part of the show and is therefore not officially on board. Or maybe a German gossip magazine accidentally spilled the beans on what was supposed to be a huge reveal.
Is it too much to hope Angela Lansbury is the Ghost of High Heart?