Game of Thrones actor Charles Dance, who played Tywin Lanister, recently expressed his support for the Game of Thrones Season 8 remake petition.
Related: Petition Created for HBO to Remake Game of Thrones Season 8 with “Competent Writers”
The petition was created by Dylan D. on Change.org and simply stated, “David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have proven themselves to be woefully incompetent writers when they have no source material (i.e. the books) to fall back on. This series deserves a final season that makes sense.”
It concluded, “Subvert my expectations and make it happen, HBO!”
Dylan D would provide an update further explaining what the purpose of his petition was.
He wrote, “I made this petition some few days after Episode 4, “The Last of the Starks”, aired. I was just so disappointed and angry. It was simply me venting a bit.”
He continued, ” I posted it to r/freefolk on Reddit, it got nowhere, and I shrugged and went about my day. I had forgotten all about it. A week later, a coworker caught me before I was leaving for the day and asked, “Hey, is this you?” The petition had almost reached 500,000 signatures. I was blown away. I hadn’t checked the thing for a week! And look at how far it has come!”
He would go on to state that the creation of the petition wasn’t about wanting HBO to actually remake Season 8, but to simply send a message using a Joker reference from the Dark Knight.
Dylan D. explained, “I haven’t heard from anyone HBO-related. I don’t think people can reasonably expect HBO to completely remake the season, or any part of this particular series (keep in mind the prequel spinoffs). It costs a fortune to shoot one episode, and I think most signers understand that. Will HBO lose gobs of money over this? Eh probably not. As Heath Ledger’s Joker once said, “It’s not about the money, it’s about sending a message.” And I think this message is one of frustration and disappointment at its core.”
He would add, “The issue I have is not necessarily with what we got, it’s HOW we got there — A rushed, laughably inconsistent mess of a season fraught with cringe-inducing, arc-slaying dialogue and “everybody is stupid” syndrome. We can expect that the books will describe a more sensical path toward the ultimate conclusions that we will see on Sunday. No pressure, Mr. Martin.”
“In closing, I didn’t make this petition to be an entitled, whiny fan. I made it because I was immensely disappointed and needed to vent. Do I have a solution? I’ve got plenty of ideas, but no, I’m not a Hollywood writer. But you don’t need to be a mechanic to know your car is broken,” he concluded.
The petition would eventually be signed by over 1.8 million people.
Related: Sophie Turner: Game of Thrones Fan Petition “Is Just Disrespectful”
In May 2019, Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark, responded to the petition describing it as “disrespectful” while speaking with the New York Times.
She stated, “People always have an idea in their heads of how they want a show to finish, and so when it doesn’t go to their liking, they start to speak up about it and rebel.”
Turner elaborated, “The thing about “Game of Thrones” that’s always been amazing is the fact that there’s always been crazy twists and turns, right from Season 1 with Ned’s beheading. So Daenerys becoming something of the Mad Queen — it shouldn’t be such a negative thing for fans. It’s a shock for sure, but I think it’s just because it hasn’t gone their way.”
She then described the petition as disrespectful explaining, ““All of these petitions and things like that — I think it’s disrespectful to the crew, and the writers, and the filmmakers who have worked tirelessly over 10 years, and for 11 months shooting the last season. Like 50-something night shoots. So many people worked so, so hard on it, and for people to just rubbish it because it’s not what they want to see is just disrespectful.”
HBO’s Casey Bloys would eventually address the petition at the Television Critics Association’s press tour in July 2019.
He stated, “There are very few downsides to having a hugely popular show. One I can think of, when you try to end it, many people have opinions on how to end it. I think that comes with the territory.”
Bloys then addressed the petition, “The petition shows a lot of enthusiasm and passion for the show, but it wasn’t something we seriously considered. I can’t imagine another network would.”
While Turner described the petition as disrespectful, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played Jamie Lannister, recently told Variety that he considered donating to the petition.
When asked if he was surprised fans wanted a more dramatic death of Jamie he responded, “I didn’t follow it at all. [Pauses.] Obviously, I heard about it. I was aware of the petition for a new ending, which I thought was hilarious.”
He continued, “I almost wanted to donate to that petition. HBO saying, ‘You’re right, so many people want it, we’re going to do it.’ I think everyone had their own opinion.”
Related: New Games of Thrones: House of the Dragon Rumor Reveals Two Female Lead Roles
“I find the world of fandom really interesting. Everyone wanted something specific and different from what they got. It’s a combination of — you imagine an ending; but also, I think if you’re a hardcore fan, it was really upsetting that it ended,” he elaborated.
He concluded saying, “You lived with this for eight seasons. There is still a massive community dedicated to “Game of Thrones.” I think there was a real fear that was going to go away. It had to end.”
However, when asked if he would do anything differently if he had to redo the ending he stated, “Oh, how did it end? He was — no, it was fine. It was great. It was fine. How do you end that story? Let’s talk about this in 10 years, then you can talk about it. But now, I think it’s a little too recent.”
More recently, Charles Dance would come out and wholeheartedly support the fan petition. Speaking with Pop Culture, Dance stated, “Well if there was a petition, I would sign it.”
He then explained, “I mean, I saw it. I continue to watch the whole series even after I’d been killed off in the lavatory. Because I just thought it’s a fantastic television show, you know? I was very lucky to be part of it. I loved it; there were storylines [where] I wanted to know what was going to happen to these people!”
Related: HBO Cancels Game of Thrones Prequel Starring Naomi Watts After Filming Full Pilot Episode
“I know that the finale satisfied a lot of people. It also disappointed a lot of people, and I’m afraid I am in the latter camp,” he added.
He then lamented how the final season was done by committee, “”I think David and Dan raised the bar when it came to television screenplay writing. They are phenomenal. And for the whole thing to end up as a committee, I just thought, ‘Hmm, no.’ I would say I was somewhat underwhelmed by.”
Geeks + Games Josiah Rises reacted to Dance’s comments saying, “I love how we are well over a year removed from Game of Thrones’ ending and people still won’t stop talking about how much they hated it. Because it was seriously, just that bad.”
He continued, “You go from having one of the greatest shows ever in the history of television to becoming nothing more than one of the biggest jokes in the history of television. And just that dramatic decline, it’s going to be something that’s going to be talked about for a really long time. And people will be looking at it for ages to come at just how they failed so miserably in that final season.”
He then added, “Dance starred in the show for years and he didn’t even like the ending. That tells you just about everything you need to know.”
What do you make of Dance and Coster-Waldau’s comments in regards to the Game of Thrones Season 8 petition?