British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran will be making a guest appearance on "Game of Thrones" season 7.
The "Shape of You" singer, who is currently dominating the charts with his new album "÷ (Divide)," has been confirmed to guest star on the HBO fantasy drama this summer. Series creators and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss revealed the casting news during a South by Southwest (SXSW) panel last Sunday, March 12.
In the conversation moderated by cast members Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams, Benioff mentioned they had tried to cast Sheeran for years as a surprise for Williams. The actress is a huge fan of Sheeran and this year, they finally made it happen. Benioff's statement was confirmed by a spokesperson from HBO, though further details about Sheeran's role were not divulged.
Since its debut, "Game of Thrones" have featured cameos from various musicians including members of Mastodon, Coldplay, Sigur Rós and Of Monsters and Men. Unfortunately, there's no confirmation on whether Sheeran will be performing or singing like what Of Monsters and Men and Sigur Rós did. It is also unclear if he will be recognizable when he makes his "GOT" debut, unlike members of Mastodon who played zombified Wildlings.
The show has been confirmed to end after season 8, leading fans to wonder if there will ever be a spin-off series. According to Benioff, a spin-off program is being considered by the network.
"There's always going be an urge — the characters who maybe will survive — there's always going to be this temptation to keep doing it; to do the spin-off show or do the sequel show and everything," he explained. "And I think HBO might well do one and I'm looking forward to watching it... I think it's better for them to get new blood in with new visions."
HBO programming president Casey Bloys previously said that if the network greenlights a spin-off for the epic drama in the future, it will likely be a prequel instead of a sequel.
The seventh season of "Game of Thrones" premieres Sunday, July 16 at 9 p.m. EDT on HBO.
