Game of Thrones bosses reveal why they scrapped plans to bring Catelyn Stark back from the dead as white walker
CATELYN Stark’s death remains one of the most iconic scenes in Game of Thrones history.
The infamous Red Wedding episode saw Catelyn (Michelle Fairley), along with her son Rob (Richard Madden) and his pregnant wife Talisa (Oona Chaplin) brutally murdered in a Frey ambush.
In the novels by George RR Martin, Catelyn returns from the dead as a white walker known as Lady Stoneheart.
However, the character never made the cut in the HBO fantasy drama, which concluded last year.
Now showrunner David Benioff has lifted the lid on why the character wasn’t included, insisting there were a few different reasons.
“Part of the reason we didn’t want to put it in had to do with things coming up in George’s books that we don’t want to spoil,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
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“We knew we had Jon Snow’s resurrection coming up [and] too many resurrections start to diminish the impact of characters dying – we wanted to keep our powder dry for that,” he went on.
“Catelyn’s last moment was so fantastic, and Michelle is such a great actress, to bring her back as a zombie who doesn’t speak felt like diminishing returns.”
Martin expained that Lady Stoneheart’s was written to illustrate how a person’s demise shapes the kind of white walker they become.
“Lady Stoneheart has a role in the books, whether it’s sufficient or interesting enough – I think it is or I wouldn’t have put her in,” he noted.
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“One of the things I wanted to show with her is that the death she suffered changes you.”
The comments come after reports that Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon has started casting and is set for a 2022 release date.
Meanwhile cast member Jessica Henwick paid tribute to the late Dame Diana Rigg, recalling the hilarious moment she “stormed off set at 0.1mph.”
All seasons of Game of Thrones are available to stream on NOW TV.