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Game of Thrones writers Benioff and Weiss pull out of Comic-Con

Are they dodging angry fans?

Jennifer Bisset Former Senior Editor / Culture
Jennifer Bisset was a senior editor for CNET. She covered film and TV news and reviews. The movie that inspired her to want a career in film is Lost in Translation. She won Best New Journalist in 2019 at the Australian IT Journalism Awards.
Expertise Film and TV Credentials
  • Best New Journalist 2019 Australian IT Journalism Awards
Jennifer Bisset
2 min read
Los Angeles Premiere For The Sixth Season Of HBO's "Game Of Thrones"

David Benioff and D. B. Weiss will not be attending SDCC.

Jeff Kravitz

Game of Thrones is the most nominated series at this year's Emmys, with 32 nominations, but it's also the most controversial, with over a million fans signing a petition to redo the eighth and final season

Now writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have pulled out of this year's San Diego Comic-Con , two days before the show's panel.

The official Game of Thrones Twitter account tweeted Wednesday a change to the Game of Thrones original panel lineup. Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm -- the actor/musician also goes by the alias Raleigh Ritchie), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) and Conleth Hill (Lord Varys) are all scheduled to appear in the prestigious Hall H. 

But no Benioff or Weiss.

Watch this: Game of Thrones season 8 finale: Our watch has ended

Benioff and Weiss have avoided fans in the past. While the final season aired from April through May, they consciously avoided social media. "We'll be in an undisclosed location, turning off our phones and opening various bottles," Weiss told Entertainment Weekly in early April.

"At some point, if and when it's safe to come out again, somebody like [HBO's GoT publicist Mara Mikialian] will give us a breakdown of what was out there without us having to actually experience it."

"I plan to be very drunk and very far from the internet," Benioff said.

SDCC was set to be the showrunners' first public appearance or interview since the Game of Thrones finale aired in May. HBO claimed the writers pulled out of the convention due to production and scheduling conflicts. The pair's next gig is writing a new series of Star Wars films for Disney.

Despite the criticism, Benioff and Weiss were nominated for a writing Emmy for the last episode of the series, The Iron Throne.

The reactions to Benioff and Weiss' absence from SDCC are hitting Twitter, much of it aimed at the pair dodging anger from fans.

The Game of Thrones panel takes place Friday at 5:30 p.m. PT in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con.

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