Game of Thrones: Bart the Bear II Dies At Age 21

One of the furry stars of Game of Thrones passed away this week at age 21. Bart the Bear II, who was known for battling Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) in “The Bear and the Maiden Fair,” died at a Utah refuge. According to The Vital Foundation, Bart was found with his sister in Alaska in 2000 after their mother was killed by a hunter. In addition to Game of Thrones, Bart appeared in Dr. Dolittle 2, An Unfinished Life, Into the West, Evan Almighty, Have You Heard About the Morgans?, Without a Paddle, Zookeeper, Pete’s Dragon, We Bought a Zoo, Into the Wild, and The Grizzly Maze. Yesterday, Christie took to Instagram to share some kind words for her animal co-star.

“Rest in peace, dear BART THE BEAR II. 2000 – 2021. The greatest co-star I ever had. 💔 Own trailer on set, Country and Western music playing at all times to calm him, and applause every time he stepped on stage with whipped cream in a frying pan – I loved every second of working with you!! 💔 @gameofthrones,” Christie wrote. You can check out her post below:

Game of Thrones will soon be getting its first spin-off series, House of the Dragon, which is expected to premiere sometime next year. The show will draw inspiration from George R.R. Martin‘s novella Fire & Blood and follow the rise of the Targaryen family.

“I’ve always thought this was a cool story, it’s one I like, so I’m looking forward to seeing it come alive on screen,” Martin told The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of podcast. “And of course I’m looking forward to the dragons! Obviously, I love the dragons. We had three of them in Game of Thrones but now we got like 17 of them. And hopefully, they’ll each have their own personalities, they’ll be instantly recognizable when you see them, the colors and all of that because the dragons do have personalities in the books, and it’ll be great to see that come alive. And the dragon riders. That’s all pretty cool.”

House of the Dragon is set to star Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, and Emma D’Arcy as well as Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel, Milly Alcock, and Emily Carey. It was revealed that the series will have five main characters, including King Viserys Targaryen (Considine), Alicent Hightower (Cooke), Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (D’Arcy), Prince Daemon Targaryen (Smith), and Lord Corlys Velaryon AKA the Sea Snake (Toussaint). Ifans will play Otto Hightower, the hand of the King, Best has been cast as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, Mizuno plays Mysaria, an ally to Prince Daemon Targaryen, Fabien Frankel will play Ser Criston Cole, Alcock is Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, and Carey is set to portray Young Alicent Hightower. Ryan Corr is Ser Harwin ‘Breakbones’ Strong, Jefferson Hall is Lord Jason Lannister, the Lord of Casterly Rock as well as his twin Tyland Lannister, a crafty and calculating politician. David Horovitch is playing Grand Maester Mellos, Graham McTavish is Ser Harrold Westerling of the Kingsguard, Matthew Needham is Larys Strong, Bill Paterson plays Lord Lyman Beesbury, and Gavin Spokes is Lord Lyonel Strong. 

Rest well, Bart the Bear II.