‘Game of Thrones’ VFX Supervisor Confirms Jon Snow’s Missing Direwolf Is ‘Very Present’ in Final Season

“Game of Thrones” fans obsessed with the whereabouts of John Snow’s direwolf Ghost are in luck, because the animal is set to return in a big way for the HBO fantasy series’ final season. VFX supervisor Joe Bauer confirmed to HuffPo that Ghost will reemerge in “Games of Thrones” Season 8. The character wasn’t seen at all in Season 7 and was only mentioned once, when Sansa told Jon it was unfair to stay in the North and “sit and wait for him like Ghost.”

“Oh, you’ll see him again. He has a fair amount of screen time in Season 8,” Bauer told HuffPo about Ghost. “He does show up…he’s very present and does some pretty cool things in Season 8.”

“Game of Thrones” writer Bryan Cogman revealed earlier this year that Ghost was supposed to appear in a brief scene in Season 7, but the moment was ultimately cut from filming. According to Bauer, the lack of direwolves last season was due to an entirely practical reason.

“The direwolves are tough because you don’t want to get them wrong, so we end up always shooting real wolves and doing a scaling trick with them, but the real wolves only behave in certain ways,” Bauer said. “I think that has something to do with why the direwolves are in the show but they’re not maybe as integral as they are in the books.”

Only two direwolves remain in the HBO series, Ghost and Arya’s wolf, Nymeria. The latter direwolf appeared in the second episode of Season 7 when she had a brief reunion with Arya in the woods. Fans have long expected the direwolves to factor into the end game of “Game of Thrones,” and it appears Bauer is proving theories correct, at least when it comes to Ghost.

HBO is set to debut the final season of “Game of Thrones” next year. The network has not yet announced an official release date.