General predictions

[spikebrennan]

This thread will describe general predictions about changes that the producers of the show will make to the story as told in the novels. These are not suggestions, just things, that we anticipate will be kind of inevitable changes as a result of the adaptation of the book to the show:

[list]
[*][b]The kids will be older.[/b]
[/list]Most, if not all, of the Stark kids will be cast as older characters. For one thing, if the series is spread over five years or more, the actors would age too quickly. For another, there aren't enough really good child actors around. For third, there's too much icky sex and violence involving kids, even for HBO.

[list]
[*][b]Many characters will be dropped completely, or consolidated.[/b]
[/list]A pity, but we can't have everybody. I'm guessing that the ones who get the axe will include Davos Seaworth, the Greyjoys (perhaps all of them), all of Dorne, and huge chunks of the East.

[list]
[*][b]Dany's storyline will be more integrated with everyone else's.[/b]
[/list]Imagine Peter Jackson's difficulty in writing and directing the LoTR movies, where huge chunks of the second and third movies consist of tracking two different groups of characters who are in entirely different places and don't interact with each other. How do you get your audience to care about both? In LoTR, at least they started out together, so the audience was aware that these were two different threads of the same story.

Compare and contrast Dany's relationship with the rest of the main characters in ASOIAF: when our story begins, she's already on the other side of the world-- and four books in, this is still the case. I imagine that the producers will conclude that this doesn't work from a TV perspective, although I'm not sure how they will end up handling this.

[Ran]

It's incredibly unlikely that Davos Seaworth will be dropped. That's all I'm saying about that.

[Frank Stark]

I agree with A and B (though who they are that's removed or integrated is probably a long debate). I disagree with C. The hot chick in a foreign setting? No problem. She, and the other Quartheen women, however, will probably not be single-bare-breasted.

For what it's worth (very little I think), sizes and ages will both be much more nebulous. Robert, Sandor will simply be "really tall" and Gregor will just be "tallest"

[Padraig]

Accepting Dany is far away, GRRM did take one leaf from LotR in that the rest of the leading characters do begin in one place. Winterfell. Its an ideal way to start a TV show. Spread out from there.

I've thought about what they'll do with the aGoT prologue and whether it will feature at the start of the show. Not sure. But it is useful in that it introduces the threat Jon will face on the Wall. So I can see it featuring in some form. As mentioned, Dany is the other interesting question. She does have a great story in aGoT, that's in her favour.

They can be creative with how they deal with Theon also but they need him in aCoK (if the series lasts that long). He does little in aGoT, yet he may feature anyhow. Robb needs some faces in his army. :)

Basicly, I think if its a POV character, it is difficult to remove them from the plot. Otherwise, the writers have a lot of freedom with characters.