Author: Trafficblast

The cast of Game of Thrones took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, and although the series is over, the actors had plenty to share, especially as the panel’s narrator–Entertainment Weekly’s James Hibberd–didn’t hesitate to ask tough questions about the controversial final season.

The panel included Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Conleth Hill (Varys), and Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran Stark).

Hibberd opened with a banger, asking Isaac what his reign as King Bran the Broken is like.

“I can’t imagine his government is a barrel of laughs,” Hempstead-Wright said. “I think it must be quite serious. And I guess for all intents and purposes, Westeros is now a surveillance state, with Bran aware of everything everyone is doing.” It’s nice to know Hempstead-Wright shares the opinion of the many fans who have speculated about how Bran might use his powers as king.

Meanwhile, what would King Bran do if he did manage to locate and take control of the runaway dragon, Drogon?

“Burn a couple of cities down, go back and get the revenge,” Hempstead-Wright joked.

Later during the panel, Hibberd raised the issue of the “evil Bran theory”–that Bran let events unfold as they did, despite the massive loss of life, so that he would wind up on the throne at the end.

“I don’t think Bran knows, per se, exactly what’s going to happen in the future–he’s not a fortune teller,” Hempstead-Wright explained. “He’s got the entirety of the past at his fingerprints, but his vision of the future is slightly cloudier. That’s my excuse for why Bran didn’t say anything. But I think it’s quite cool that it’s left slightly ambiguous and you can read into it.”

“I think that’s one of the cleverest things about the ending, is it doesn’t conclude everything very neatly,” the actor continued.

Coster-Waldau addressed the backlash to Season 8 directly. “It’s gonna piss you off no matter what, because it’s the end,” the actor said. “But at the end of the day, it’s absolutely fine–if you hated the ending, if you loved it, that’s great. Just don’t call people names.”

Coster-Waldau addressed his character’s ending directly, as well. “I thought it was a great ending,” the actor said. “I thought it was perfect for that character, ending in the arms of Cersei–it made sense to me.” Members of the audience disagreed, judging by the scattered boos that emerged in Comic-Con’s Hall H.

“That’s just my opinion,” Coster-Waldau replied, not without a sense of humor.

As for Arya Stark, actress Maisie Williams has her own theories about what’s going on “west of Westeros”–and opinions about the memes surrounding her character’s ending.

“I’m sure she’s having a wonderful time, like Dora the Explorer, minus the bob,” Williams laughed. Of course, Hibberd followed up with the obvious question: Why didn’t Bran simply tell Arya what’s west of Westeros?

“That was my favorite meme actually,” Williams said. “It’s like, ‘What’s west of Westeros? No one knows!’ and then Bran’s there like, ‘Are you kidding me?'”

Grey Worm’s actor, Jacob Anderson, even addressed the theory about the poison butterflies that book readers know are present on Missandei’s home island Naath, where Grey Worm was headed the last time we saw him in the series.

“People keep telling me that butterflies kill him,” Anderson said, chuckling. “He gets there and there’s poisonous butterflies. But I think he kept his promise to Missandei.”

“I think he’s just starting a new society, like a Wakanda kind of vibe, in another part of the world,” Anderson explained.

For his part, Varys actor Conleth Hill was vocal in the past about being dissatisfied with his ending–in an interview, in fact, with Hibberd, this panel’s moderator. Hill took this panel as an opportunity to set the record straight.

“I don’t regret starting the petition,” he joked (to be clear, he definitely didn’t). “To be very honest, I did an interview with EW way after we finished the show, and the question was, ‘How did you feel at the time?’ and I was very honest that I was absolutely gutted to get so close but not make the end…I thought I gave a very honest answer to how I felt, but I put it in the context of, that was one of the risks of being in a multi-character show.

“I thought the initial interview was very balanced, but as you say, it was picked over like a whale on a beach…for the record, I loved all my ten years on Game of Thrones…it was a life-changing experience.”

Many more questions were answered during the panel.

Cunningham said he wasn’t sure whether Davos would have gone through with killing Melisandre after the Battle of Winterfell. “I’m not sure. Davos, I mean, he was described by some people as the moral compass of the piece, and you never saw him killing anybody,” Cunningham said. “I think he’d have wanted to do it, but whether he would or not–I think his humanity was always going to rise to the surface. I’d like to think he’d have got someone else to do it.”

What about why Grey Worm didn’t kill Jon Snow after Jon assassinated Daenerys? “In my head, I think there came a point toward the end where it was just like, enough is enough,” Anderson said. “I think that’s a big reason why he kind of left. It was like, everybody that was ever dear to him is dead now, and he’d only just learned how to have people be dear to him. So I think he just wanted to get–he was like, this is a violent place, and this is not what I want my existence to be anymore.”

Hilariously, Sam’s actor, John Bradley, addressed one of the elephants in the room during the final season’s airing–not the coffee cup present in the Winterfell feast scene, but the water bottle visible during the council scene in the final episode. The bottle was, of course, located next to Bradley’s feet, but the actor actually believes it wasn’t his.

“I will say this, actually: that I’m right-handed,” Bradley explained. “I thought about this very strongly. I’m right-handed, so if I’m drinking a water bottle with this hand, if I was going to put it on the floor, I think I’d put it on this side of my leg. But the bottle was on this side. So as a conspiracy theory…I will say that there’s a guy on this side who might be right-handed as well. I think I’ve taken enough blame for this one.”

For the record, the character sitting to Bradley’s left during the scene in question is never actually introduced, though fans speculated that he was actually Howland Reed–a character book readers have long looked forward to meeting, but who never wound up appearing officially in the show. So, sure, let’s blame it on him.

Overall, the tone of Game of Thrones’ final Comic-Con panel was surprisingly warm. Everyone present seemed to have a sense of humor about Season 8’s shortcomings–but also a realistic perspective regarding the bigger picture. Game of Thrones became a cultural phenomenon because so many fans love it and obsessed over it for many years, and an ending that many fans found disappointing didn’t change the years of enjoyment preceding it. As Davos Seaworth once said, “Nothing f***s you harder than time.” But luckily, nothing can change the past.

With two episodes left in its 10th season, the cast and producer of FX’s Archer stormed San Diego Comic-Con with a preview of the next new installment–“Cubert,” which airs on July 24–and a Season 11 renewal.

While “Cubert” is easily one of the best episodes of Season 10, showcasing Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) as he thinks a mysterious object is terrorizing the crew of his ship while he may instead be losing his mind, the news of Season 11 was what the fans in attendance at the panel were truly waiting for. After all, for the last three seasons Archer has been stuck in a coma as the show’s characters continue to live on in his coma dream in a variety of situations, from space travel in the current Archer 1999 to the Danger Island season, in which they are marooned on a mysterious island.

The following contains spoilers for the Season 10 finale of Archer.

With the Season 11 announcement, it was revealed what form the show would be in next season. In the short teaser, many possibly happenings flash on the screen, including Archer having children, battling cancer, and getting into all kinds is trouble. However, it ends with him waking up from his coma, three years later. He learns that his mother has essentially moved into his hospital room and was waiting for him to wake up the entire time. However, she doesn’t share many details about what’s happened to others in his life since then.

Archer’s producers promised that Season 11 will see Archer getting back to the detective work that the show was known for prior to Sterling entering his coma. When that season will arrive remains a mystery, but Archer isn’t done with FX back and he’s finally getting back into fighting shape after nearly dying.

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Having left in The Walking Dead Season 8, Andrew Lincoln is now set to reprise the role of Rick Grimes for upcoming movies. A teaser for the film for one of them was shown during a Walking Dead panel at San Diego Comic-Con. It features a helicopter flying towards a distant city, the skyline of which is silhouetted by that classic dusty yellow light that is synonymous with the show’s aesthetic. As the light blankets the city, The Walking Dead’s logo appears, followed by “Rick Grimes Returns.” Grimes was last seen being carried away by helicopter in a near-death state. This no doubt means his harrowing existence isn’t about to get any easier.

The movies were previously thought to be made-for-TV, but it seems they’ve graduated, as the teaser also states, “Only in Theaters.” As of yet, the first project doesn’t have a name and was instead referred to as “Untilted The Walking Dead Movie.” It is being produced by AMC, Skybound, and Universal.

It seems to be a Comic-Con of ups and downs for The Walking Dead fans. The day began with news that Fear the Walking Dead has been renewed for Season 6. However, shortly after this Danai Gurira, who plays Michonne in The Walking Dead, announced she would be leaving the show after Season 10.

Andrew Lincoln was rumored to be returning for the movies and this teaser confirms that this indeed will be the case. Reports this would happen emerged in February and, at the same time, they noted that Gurira would also eventually leave and is likely to appear in the movie(s).

“These are going to be big, epic entertainments,” Walking Dead chief content officer Scott Gimple said at the time, noting that they’d “probably” air on AMC, which is no longer the case. “Each are quality films. That’s what’s been happening in the industry. We’ve seen Netflix make these, basically, studio films for people to watch in their homes, and we’re going to be doing the same sort of thing here.”

The first Rick Grimes movie is set to take place in a “very new situation with its own history” that is “very, very different from what we’ve seen before” according to Gimple.

Blizzard Entertainment is seeing the departure of another long-time executive. Frank Pearce, who co-founded the company back when it was known as Silicon & Synapse, announced that he has decided to move on from the developer after 28 years.

Pearce shared the news in a statement published on Blizzard’s website. It does not suggest he’s leaving for another company; instead, he talks about spending more time outdoors and pursuing other passions, like learning to play an instrument.

Blizzard president J. Allen Brack also released a statement on Pearce parting ways with the company in which he talks up Pearce’s role, despite the fact that he hasn’t been in the most public-facing of roles.

“Like many of us, Frank is an introvert,” Brack wrote. “Thus many of you haven’t seen a lot of him publicly, nor seen the deep impact he’s had on Blizzard, and on the culture specifically. But Frank has been here from the beginning, building and expanding the foundation and championing the values behind everything Blizzard does. Blizzard is better because of Frank Pearce.”

Fellow co-founder Mike Morhaime announced his departure from Blizzard late last year, with Brack assuming his role as president.

The first ever footage of Netlfix’s Witcher show debuted during the series’ panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019.

A teaser shown before the panel began was brief, but it was followed by several other clips that provided the first glimpse of the highly anticipated show. These clips included looks at several familiar characters, including Yennefer, Ciri, and of course, the Witcher himself, Geralt. The scale of the show looks incredible, with massive battles teased in the footage, the first of which opened with the quote, “The only certainty on this continent of monsters and mutants is that no one is ever what they seem.”

And, fortunately, the footage included a brief peek at what appeared to be an iconic scene that may or may not involve Geralt taking a bath.

A second clip showed off a fight scene in a banquet hall. During the panel, Henry Cavill emphasized that whenever Geralt is on the screen, it’s him you’re seeing–including during action scenes.

The panel itself included adapter and writer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, as well as actors Freya Allan (Ciri), Anya Chalotra (Yennefer), and Henry Cavill (Geralt).

Hissrich said 207 actors auditioned for the role of Geralt, but Cavill’s voice is the one she kept hearing in her head.

“There was something about Geralt that really struck a chord with me,” Cavill said.

Hissrich also teased which of the Witcher’s many stories the show will be based on–she said she read “The Last Wish,” the character’s first collection of short stories, and was asked by Netflix to adapt that.

Chalotra discussed Yennefer’s role in the Netflix show. “Yennefer is on a journey of self-discovery,” the actress said. “I think what’s great about our story is we look at not only her power, but her vulnerabilities, and together that makes her the ultimate survivor. I’d say her overall goal is to find true connection and an unconditional love, which she’s never experienced.”

A third clip showed off one of Yennefer’s scenes–and a disturbing one at that. The sorceress sat on a beach talking to a dead baby. “I’m sorry you didn’t have a life, but truth be told, you’re not missing much,” she says. She seems extremely bitter, discussing in a very one-sided monologue how parents, friends, and everything else about life is basically pointless, especially for girls and women. “Even when we’re told we’re special, as I was–as you would have been–we’re still just vessels for them to take and take until we’re empty and alone.”

“So count yourself lucky,” Yennefer finishes. “You’ve cheated the game and won without even knowing it.” She buries the corpse in the sand.

Judging by these clips, it seems the writing will match the tone of the original books and games in many ways. Fans should be happy with what’s been shown so far.

“I’ve always wanted to be in some fantasy epic,” Freya Allan, who plays Ciri, said. “It was like a dream role for me.”

She didn’t have much specific to tease about her role, but she did describe her overall arc. “[Ciri’s story] is a journey of development and discovery and she’s constantly in flux throughout the season,” Allan continued.

In a Ciri-focused clip, the character walked through a snowy, creepy forest and glimpsed a golden light shining from the other side of a ridge. She’s quickly surrounded by a group of menacing elves holding spears. She pleads not to be hurt, and they beckon her to follow them. She says she needs to find “Dara,” a character unknown in the books or games.

Hissrich said she was excited to bring the female characters’ backstories to life, revealing that the three main characters will begin the series in separate places before coming together. “I think it’s one of my favorite parts of the series, is that–I would call it an addition to the books,” she said. “We really..honored that source material, but we were able to give the characters a little more breathing room, and really get to know them, before these three characters eventually meet up.”

Cavill also discussed his horse, Roach, an important element of his character.

“She’s the one source of humanity left [to him], because the rest of the world hates him and hates everything he does,” Cavill said. “She’s the one access point he has to humanity.”

Hissrich teased a “long soliloquy” Cavill delivers to Roach in one episode she wrote. She said Roach is the “one person–one horse?–[Geralt] feels like he can be himself in front of.”

The panel’s final clip appeared to be a full trailer. It explains the backstory of the elves, who taught humans to use magic, and were then betrayed and “slaughtered” by humans. When one character asks Geralt whether life is just about “monsters and money,” he replies, “That’s all it needs to be.” We also glimpse Yennefer’s transformation from a disfigured young woman into the beautiful sorceress we know her as.

This story is developing–check back soon for more!

The Walking Dead Season 10 will be the last to feature Michonne. Actress Danai Gurira announced she would be leaving AMC’s post-apocalyptic zombie TV series after the upcoming season during a panel held at San Diego Comic-Con.

The news confirms reports from February stating Season 10 would be Gurira’s last. At the time, it was also reported that she had only signed on for a handful of episodes. “This has been one of the purest joys in my life,” she said during the panel, as reported by EW. “I am very very thankful for the experience I’ve had in ways that I can’t even express right now. My heart does not leave … the connection between us never ends.

“It was a very difficult decision. It was about my calling and other things I feel called to… as a creator of work. All I’m filled with is a lot of pain about leaving and a lot of gratitude and to all of you. I love you guys. TWD family is forever.”

The Hall H crowd responded to the heartfelt speech by giving Gurira a standing ovation.

This is the third major departure for The Walking Dead, having already lost Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan after Season 9. Gurira, and her character Michonne, was one of the few main faces of the series. However, this may not be the last time we see Michonne, as there are The Walking Dead movies that could have her return to the role. Andrew Lincoln will reportedly reprise his role as Rick Grimes for one of these films, so the door is open for Gurira too, provided she doesn’t meet a gruesome end in Season 10.

Outside The Walking Dead, Gurira is a frequent face in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame as Okoye. It’s likely she’ll return for the inevitable sequel to Black Panther, too.

In other Walking Dead news, the prequel series, Fear the Walking Dead, has been renewed for Season 6.

Twitch Prime, which is included with any Amazon Prime membership, has been ramping up its efforts to offer benefits for gamers recently. The premium service already offers free monthly PC games, in-game loot for games like Apex Legends and FIFA 19, 12 months of Nintendo Switch Online, and other free benefits for its members. Now, you can even earn money back on select purchases with a new, limited-time offer for Twitch Prime members. From now through July 26, you can get $15 Amazon credit on a select offering of games, including:

You can also see each game’s current price on Amazon above. As you’ll notice, all of the above games are $15 or less with a Prime discount, which means you’ll essentially get any of them for free with the $15 reward credit dropped back into your account.

Your Twitch account must be linked to your Amazon Prime account to receive the reward credit. Once you connect your Twitch and Amazon accounts and purchase one of the above eligible games, $15 credit will arrive in your account within seven days of purchase.

This offer comes just after Amazon Prime Day, which ran a full 48 hours this year on July 15 and 16. While Amazon’s Prime Day deals have since ended, you can still take advantage of some of the best competing deals at places like Walmart, GameStop, and other retailers that ran their own sales. Be sure to check out all the best Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One deals from Prime Day that are still available, including some great Xbox One console bundles.

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