Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin will miss the premiere of House of the Dragon after contracting Covid-19.
The fantasy novellist apparently caught the virus while attending San Diego Comic Con last week.
HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys made the announcement during Wednesday’s (27 July) House of the Dragon premiere in Los Angeles, but insisted there was “nothing to worry about”.
“I was going to start today by introducing George RR Martin and tell you how great it is to have George on the journey with us,” said Bloys, while introducing the hotly anticipated Game of Thrones spin-off series.
“Unfortunately, George got Covid at Comic-Con, so he’s not here. I think he’s feeling fine, so nothing to worry about.”
He added: “I wanted to tell you what a pleasure it is and how lucky we are to have the architect, the literal architect, of this world on this journey with us… He has been fantastic,” he added.
Martin then confirmed the diagnosis in a video message shared to YouTube, explaining that his symptoms are “minor”.
“I have some sniffles and I cough once in a while,” he said.
House of the Dragon debuts on HBO Max next month in the US, and on Sky in the UK.
Earlier this month, the former chairman of WarnerMedia revealed why the first Game of Thrones spinoff was cancelled, despite between $30m (£25m) and $35m (£29m) being spent on a pilot episode.
