Game of Thrones viewers should give up hope that Lady Stoneheart will appear on the show (sorry, George R.R. Martin), but they’re getting something even better in season eight. Visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer told the Huffington Post that Jon Snow’s trusty direwolf Ghost, who we’ve seen neither hide nor albino hair of since season six’s “Oathbreaker,” will make his triumphant return.
“Oh, you’ll see him again. He has a fair amount of screen time in season eight,” the six-time Emmy winner said. “He’s very present and does some pretty cool things in season eight.” As for why season seven was sadly lacking in the direwolf department, Bauer explained, “The direwolves are tough because you don’t want to get them wrong, so we end up always shooting real wolves and doing a scaling trick with them, but the real wolves only behave in certain ways.” He also confessed that the direwolves on the show are “not maybe as integral” as they are in the books. Plus, most of the Starks’ litter is dead, so…
R.I.P. to Sansa’s Lady and Robb’s Grey Wind, but Shaggydog, Nymeria, Ghost, and Summer all appear to be alive and kicking in book form so far. In fact, in addition to Bran, siblings Jon Snow and Arya also seem to have warging abilities with their wolves in the books. The HBO series opted not to include this detail.
Ghost was originally supposed to be in season seven, with “a bit where Jon came out of the crypt [in Winterfell] and Ghost came up to him and he petted him and said, ‘Take care of [Sansa], watch over her for me,'” according to writer Bryan Cogman. But the scene was cut because “I guess those direwolves are expensive… Oh, well. Ghost is there somewhere roaming around.”
At least we get Ghost in season eight, when everyone becomes actual ghosts.
(Via The Huffington Post)