'Game of Thrones' News, Update: Ed Sheeran Makes Cameo Appearance in Season 7; Showrunners Explain Why
Ed Sheeran is joining the ranks of Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody, Coldplay's Will Champion, Sigur Rós and Mastodon, as he makes a guest appearance in "Game of Thrones" season 7. Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss confirmed that fans will catch a glimpse of the Irish singer-songwriter in the next season of HBO's hit epic fantasy drama.
On March 12, Benioff and Weiss revealed Sheeran's casting at the "Game of Thrones" South by Southwest (SXSW) panel facilitated by stars Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner. During the discussion, Benioff explained that Sheeran was Williams' favorite and that was why they decided to invite the singer to slip in a musical cameo for the series.
"For years we were trying to get Ed Sheeran on the show to surprise Maisie and this year we finally did it," said Benioff during the event.
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Weiss added that a lot of musical artists have already expressed their intent to be on the show, but they would always tell them that they wouldn't enjoy shooting. "You're gonna hate this — you're going to be sitting around three days for 12 hours a day," he said.
Shortly after his guest slot was revealed at the SXSW panel, Sheeran tweeted, "Guess the cats out the bag," confirming that the news was true. However, it was not the biggest news of the day for the popular singer. Earlier, Billboard had revealed that his album had earned 451,000 equivalent album units, making it the largest week for an album so far this 2017.
Meanwhile, Benioff and Weiss revealed that the final season of "Game of Thrones" will consist of only six episodes. The premiere episode will be written by Dave Hill, the next episode by Bryan Cogman, and the four remaining will be written by Weiss and Benioff.
"Game of Thrones" season 7 arrives on July 16 on HBO.
