During a San Diego Comic Con panel, we got a (sort of) update on George R.R. Martin's Winds of Winter, with the author confirming that he's still working on the book and doesn't intend to cameo in any Game of Thrones shows or series until it's done.

When a fan asked if he'd consider a cameo, Martin replied:

"I don’t know. For the last couple years since COVID hit I’ve barely left my house. Also, you may not know this but there’s this book I’m writing and it’s a little late. So I won’t be doing any acting until I finish and deliver that book and if the show is still running then then maybe."

However, Martin added that he did actually do a cameo in the original Game of Thrones...that we unfortunately never got to see.

"I did do a cameo in the original pilot of Game of Thrones but they reshot most of that so I wound up on the cutting room floor," he said. "I was also supposed to be a severed head. In the scene where Joffrey shows Sansa the heads one was supposed to be mine. Then they found out how expensive it was to make a severed head so they just bought a box of severed heads. One of them turned out to be George W. Bush, and they got in a lot of trouble. Who knows? Maybe I can yet become a severed head."

House of the Dragon has had plenty to share lately, including a brand new trailer a few days ago and an extended edition planned to drop on Discovery tomorrow. We learned the series will incorporate multiple time skips, that it may serve as a foundation for other Westeros stories, and that its redesigned Iron Throne includes 2,500 swords. We also learned about some of the other unused Game of Thrones prequel ideas, and spotted a handful of new stills from the show.

And there's tons more coming from all your favorite shows, films, games, and more out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin has shared some of the historical influences behind the upcoming HBO show House of the Dragon, which is based on his novel Fire and Blood. As part of the SDCC panel on the show, Martin said he gets inspiration from history and turns it up to 11.

"Game of Thrones, as I’ve said, was based on the Wars of the Roses," Martin said. "[House of the Dragon] was based on an earlier period in history called the Anarchy. I pilfered freely from history. When Henry I, when his only legitimate son drowned, he was left with his own legitimate child Matilda, he made her heir and then made his lords swear their fealty to her. Then when he died, her cousin came in and there was this big war that she wound up fighting for decades."

“I get inspiration from history and I turn it up to 11.” - George R. R. Martin #HOTDSDCC #HouseoftheDragon

— House of the Dragon (@HouseofDragon) July 23, 2022

The real-life war between Empress Matilda and Henry I's nephew Stephen of Blois seems to mirror the events that will unfold in House of the Dragon, which similarly takes place hundreds of years before Game of Thrones.

In this story, there's a power struggle between King Viserys Targaryen's brother and daughter that leads to the civil war known as the Dance of Dragons. In House of Dragons, that conflict will play out between Emma D'Arcy's Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Matt Smith's Prince Daemon Targaryen. When asked why Westeros has such a problem with queens, Martin said the answer lies in history.

"That was the inspiration there," Martin said. "I don’t think Westeros is any more anti-woman than real life. What we call actual history."

It's been a busy week for House of the Dragon already. We got a brand new trailer a few days ago that honed in on the queenly conflict at the heart of the prequel. We learned the series will incorporate multiple time skips, that it may serve as a foundation for other Westeros stories, and that its redesigned Iron Throne includes 2,500 swords. We also learned about some of the other unused Game of Thrones prequel ideas, and spotted a handful of new stills from the show.

After a week of new interviews, images, and trailers, today's SDCC panel on Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon gave us a look into what it's like to ride a dragon in the show, and the answer is apparently pretty weird.

Milly Alcock, who plays the young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen described dragon riding to the audience. She said they worked on a stage that was "basically the size of this whole hall" (that would be San Diego Comic Con's Hall H), and:

"You’re propped up on what looks like a mechanical bull that you might ride in a bar or pub and it lifts up six feet in the air and there are four guys with leaf blowers," she said. "It's strange."

Additionally, Paddy Considine, who plays King Viserys Targaryen, confirmed he does not ride a dragon in the show. “The only dragon I’ve ever ridden is the one from Neverending Story," he said, referring to a fairground ride he had experienced.

It's been a busy week for House of the Dragon news. We got a brand new trailer a few days ago that honed in on the queenly conflict at the heart of the prequel. We learned the series will incorporate multiple time skips, that it may serve as a foundation for other Westeros stories, and that its redesigned Iron Throne includes 2,500 swords. We also learned about some of the other unused Game of Thrones prequel ideas, and spotted a handful of new stills from the show.

And there's tons more coming from all your favorite shows, films, games, and more out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

Queen Studios has quickly made a name for itself on the collectibles scene thanks to a series of MCU statues and busts that are so lifelike it's scary. And thanks to Comic-Con, IGN had the chance to see several of these pieces up close.

Check out the slideshow gallery to see these incredibly realistic busts of Chris Evans' Captain America, Tom Holland's Spider-Man, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange and more:

For those who have never beheld a Queen Studios product in person, the company is renowned for using a combination of medical-grade silicone, glass eyeballs and hand-punched hair to create stunningly lifelike (albeit extremely expensive) pieces. Their new Captain America bust may just be their most impressive yet, though the bust is certainly rivaled by the 1:2 scale statue also on display in the Queen booth.

That's not to say Queen only focuses on MCU characters. This year's Comic-Con booth also features upcoming pieces inspired by Egyptian mythology, science fiction and horror. There's even a Jurassic Park-inspired T-Rex statue from Queen's partner Elite Creature Collectibles.

Sideshow Collectibles also has quite an impressive spread at Comic-Con this year, including some gorgeous Star Wars, Marvel and DC statues and a whole lot of Hot Toys figures. IGN also got an early look at the next wave of Mandalorian figures in the works at Hasbro.

There's tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Black Adam has gotten a new trailer at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and it showed off the newest DCEU anti-hero facing off against the Justice Society's Atom Smasher, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, and Cyclone. It was also confirmed that Viola Davis will once again play Amanda Waller in the film.

The trailer was revealed at DC's San Diego Comic-Con panel following a big entrance by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in full the Black Adam outfit. Johnson quickly changed out of the costume and walked back on stage saying, "I heard Black Adam was here, that's so cool!"

Johnson also shared a few words about why this journey becoming Black Adam was such a special one for him.

"it has been a long journey, fueled with passion, with commitment, with grit," Johnson said. "It’s been easily over 10 years. I’ve been working with [director Jaume Collet-Serra] for about 5 years now and so that’s when he came on board for this. The journey has been an incredible one. I love coming to Comic-Con. To be here in Hall H, representing a DC anti-hero is a dream come true. The dream, having been in the business for years now, I’d bring movies here and hope you guys would like them but this is a dream come true."

Speaking of Collet-Serra, he also discussed what intrigued him about taking on this project and what the core of Black Adam is all about.

"What attracted me to this was obviously working for DJ one more time but also Black Adam as a character," Collet-Serra said. "This man was a slave thousands of years ago, and in our movie, he awakens in modern times and that’s something that’s unusual. I like movies with characters who work in a grey area with their own sense of justice and morality. Like movies in the 70s like a Dirty Harry character. When the system is broken and corrupt and can’t protect the innocent the system needs to get brought down. There’s also heart in the movie and a sense of family in the movie."

There were a few other nice moments from the panel, including when Hawkman actor Aldis Hodge said that when Johnson called him about the role and eventually welcomed him to Black Adam, his "brain exploded. It was the "greatest moment" of his career.

Lastly, Johnson was asked if Black Adam or Superman would win in a fight.

"Don’t threaten me with a good time," Johnson laughed. "As you guys know, since we’re in deep with this mythology. Pound for pound they’re pretty close. I think it all depends on who’s playing Superman. I’ll just say that. I’ll leave it at that.”

Black Adam introduces the DC antihero in live-action, and Johnson has teased that it's the start of a series of movie appearances. We can likely expect to see Adam cross paths with traditional foe Shazam in future, but Johnson also wants to fight Superman down the line. To do so, the artist-formally-known-as-The Rock wants to surpass the original comic book character's physique.

Black Adam will be released on October 21. Joining Johnson in the title role are Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Cintineo as Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone.

Alongside Black Adam, Shazam: Fury of the Gods received its first trailer and it was filled with the Shazam-ily, Helen Mirren's Hespera, and references to the DCEU and Fast & Furious.

For more on San Diego Comic-Con, check out our roundup of everything announced so far!

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Black Adam made a shocking live appearance at San Diego Comic Con today at the Warner Bros. panel, descending from the heavens amid a lightning storm into Hall H.

Through fog and lightning, the Man in Black has finally arrived to Hall H. #BlackAdam #SDCC pic.twitter.com/CaVR88w8Sk

— DC (@DCComics) July 23, 2022

Not long after Black Adam had come and gone, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson emerged, saying "I heard Black Adam was here, that's so cool." Very cool, Mr. Johnson, very cool indeed.

Johnson, who obviously plays Black Adam in the upcoming film, spoke on stage about his experience with the role:

“The journey for Black Adam, it has been a long journey, fueled with passion, with commitment, with grit," he said. "It’s been easily over 10 years. I’ve been working with Jaume [Collet-Serra] for about five years now and so that’s when he came on board for this. The journey has been an incredible one. I love coming to Comic-Con. To be here in Hall H, representing a DC anti-hero is a dream come true. The dream, having been in the business for years now, I’d bring movies here and hope you guys would like them but this is a dream come true.

Later on the panel, Johnson was asked who would win in a fight: Black Adam or Superman.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time. As you guys know, since we’re in deep with this mythology. Pound for pound they’re pretty close. I think it all depends on who’s playing Superman. I’ll just say that. I’ll leave it at that.”

And a kid also asked him if Kevin Hart got jealous when Johnson was cast as Black Adam.

"Yes, Kevin Hart gets jealous with everything," he replied. "Also, you’re already taller than Kevin Hart."

Black Adam is set for release on October 21, introducing the DC antihero in live-action for the first time, and Johnson has teased that it's the start of a series of movie appearances. Joining him are Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Cintineo as Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone.

There's tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

Legendary X-men writer Chris Claremont is returning to the franchise once more, this time to revive the fan-favorite series X-Treme X-Men.

Marvel revealed the news at Comic-Con's Retailer Panel, confirming that Claremont and artist Salvador Larroca are both returning for a new five-issue series that picks up where the original left off in 2004.

X-Treme X-Men was one of Marvel's three flagship X-books in the early 2000's, alongside Grant Morrison's New X-Men and Chuck Austen's Uncanny X-Men. X-Treme distinguished itself by taking a more global approach to the X-Men, with Storm spearheading a team that operated away from the confines of the Xavier Institute.

The new series looks to revolve around Kitty Pryde, who is dealing with a psychic attack from her old nemesis Ogun. Kitty will reunite the X-Treme gang (including Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, Bishop, Sage and Phoenix) to deal with this renewed threat.

“I’m very happy to be teaming up with Chris again to bring back the adventures of the X-Treme X-Men!” Larroca said in Marvel's press release. “It’s been a long time and I’ve missed this team and this book that I consider a child of mine. I hope fans enjoy what we’re doing with this new run--there’s lots of new histories to tell. This is the book that Chris Claremont fans have been waiting for and I’m proud to once again illustrate his awesome plots. Let’s make this an instant classic!”

X-Treme X-Men #1 is slated for release in November 2022.

In other X-Men news, we got our first look at the X-Men '97 animated series at Comic-Con, and we have some theories about which classic comics it may adapt.

There's tons of news for all your favorite shows, films, games, and more coming out of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, and we've got the full schedule to guide you through the weekend of panels, announcements, trailers, and surprises.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Shazam: Fury of the Gods has finally received a first full trailer, showing the next adventure of Zachary Levi's Shazam and his superpowered family.

Revealed as part of San Diego Comic-Con 2022, the trailer begins with Shazam doubting his role in the DCEU and as a superhero while also saying he feels like a fraud when compared to the other heroes like Batman, Aquaman, and The Flash.

We also get a glimpse of Helen Mirren's Hespera, the Shazam-ily, Lucy Liu's Kalypso, Shazam throwing a truck at a dragon, and even a Fast and Furious reference. That last bit is funny because Helen Mirren starred in F9 as Queenie.

Levi was at the panel and shared some details on what he and his Shazam-ily have been up to since the first film.

"We got this really cool look into the kids getting their powers," Levi said. "Now, it’s a couple of years on. We’ve been flying around and doing missions and helping the people of Philadelphia. Lots of growing pains. Not just in our own powers but in trying to figure out who we are as heroes and as real people.”

Hespera also discussed how she loved her time as Hespera as she was a "delicious baddie to play" before looking at Levi and saying she had "such a marvelous time kicking the s*** out of you."

We previously saw footage from the movie at DC FanDome, but that was primarily made up of behind-the-scenes looks at the production. The movie, which will arrive on December 21, follows October's debut of Black Adam - Shazam's traditional comic book nemesis.

The story will see the Shazam family (established at the end of the first movie) balancing normal life with being superheroes, before two goddesses – Mirren's Hespera and Liu's Kalypso – visit the world and cause trouble. The new movie will seemingly be more adult comedy and feature "more adult stakes" than the kid-friendly original.

Alongside Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Black Adam recieved a new trailer that featured DC's newest anti-hero face off against the Justice Society's Atom Smasher, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, and Cyclone. It was also confirmed that Amanda Waller will once again play Amanda Waller in the film.

For more on San Diego Comic-Con, check out our roundup of everything announced so far!

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is enjoying a renaissance in 2022, with multiple projects being released between movies, television, and games. But co-creator Kevin Eastman, who helped draw the comics that made the Turtles so famous, still has a special love for the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

Eastman, who was on-hand for an event promoting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, recently spoke with IGN about how the original film was "the best one ever done" and how he enjoyed Konami's arcade game (he likes to pick Donatello). He also talked about Seth Rogen's upcoming project, which is currently slated for release in 2023.

Calling himself a "big fan" of Rogen, Eastman said Rogen's desire to reflect the "teenage" part of TMNT makes sense in light of the original source material. After all, the turtles were only 15-years-old in the original comic, which depicted their first time above ground.

Eastman, however, says he doesn't have any involvement in Rogen's film, nor has he spoken with him.

"No, I have not spoken to him, and that's also awesome because I do feel like different parts of the Turtles, different universes that Nickelodeon would bring me to work on. The comic books for example, of the animated TV series. I worked most recently on the 2012 series and some on Rise. And some times that they want the creator that's ... Like the Turtles versus Batman. That was something that was unique and one director's vision and they didn't need me. I did a couple drawings and sketches, but otherwise it was done on their own," Eastman explains.

"And so that's what I think is special. Because I don't want him to feel intimidated or think that if he asks me a question, I tell him, 'Well, you should do this,' that he should do that. It's his vision and his idea. And I think that's, what's personally exciting to me and I think that's, what's going to be exciting for the fans when they finally see the movie."

Eastman did, however, consult on the infamous Michael Bay films, which reimagined the classic turtle designs in grotesque ways. First released in 2014, the film eventually received a sequel, and Bay is attached to produce a third live-action film alongside Colin Jost and Casey Jost.

"They were a unique vision," Eastman says. "I had a number of meetings with the director, Jonathan Liebesman and he really went into it with heart and soul...He said, 'I want to tell the best Turtle movie ever, do the best turtle movie ever.' And his intent was pure."

However, it's clear that Eastman was at least a little bit at odds with that vision, even if he's otherwise complimentary of Liebesman and Bay.

"Sometimes the studio system can not be as accommodating as you like," Eastman says. "And I think there were some frustrations and there were things that I suggested that maybe they reconsider, but again, it's a unique and a individual artist's vision. And between Liebesman and Michael Bay, they had a story and a kind of movie that they wanted to tell. They told it. There was some great stuff in it. There's some stuff I would've done differently, but it's definitely right in the middle. Because my high watermark is the original Turtles movie and it'll always be the best Turtle movie ever done."

Eastman himself is still at it, working with fellow co-creator Peter Laird to produce a Turtles finale titled The Last Ronin, which he compares to Frank Miller's Dark Knight. The Cowabunga Collection is also not too far away, with a release date set for August 30 on a variety of platforms.

We're fully in the thick of San Diego Comic-Con, so make sure to keep an eye on IGN for everything announced at Comic-Con as the show continues.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

The first trailer and poster for John Wick 4 were revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 and they tease some of the exciting battles Keanu Reeves will get into when this fourth entry arrives in theaters on March 24, 2023.

The trailer was shown after Keanu Reeves crashed Collider's Directors on Directing panel that featured John Wick 4 director Chad Stahelski.

John Wick, at the beginning of the footage, is asked by Hiroyuki Sanada's Shimazu if he has "given any thought to where this ends?" We are then treated to glimpses of Clancy Brown's currently unknown character that may serve as the main antagonist, Lance Riddick's Charon, Ian McShane's Winston, Bill Skarsgard's Marquis, Shamier Anderson's Tracker, Donnie Yen's Caine, and Laurence Fishburne's Bowery King.

He is then told that, "no one, not even you, can kill everyone." Clearly, Shimazu hasn't seen the previous three films.

The trailer follows the first-look image that shows John Wick amid a blur of candles, and now we have even more of an idea as to what this entry will look like.

Fans were also treated to the first poster for John Wick 4 that puts Keanu Reeves' John Wick, also known as Baba Yaga, front and center.

John Wick 3 - Parabellum was released in 2019 and, in our review, we said that it "pushes its title character to his breaking point and back while offering fresh information about his backstory. The action is bloody and over-the-top and the emotional throughline remains solid as we follow John Wick on his journey to either save his skin or die trying."

For more on San Diego Comic-Con, check out our roundup of everything announced so far!

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.