Calm Down... Peter Dinklage is NOT Leaving 'Game of Thrones!'

In one of the biggest April Fools’ jokes of the day, HBOWatch announced that beloved actor Peter Dinklage would not be returning to his role of Tyrion on “Game of Thrones.”

“Today is both a sad day and an exciting one for HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones,’” reads the false statement from show creator David Benioff. “Sad because we’ve all gotten to know Peter on set and love him dearly as a friend. We’ll miss him sorely. Exciting, because we’re heading in an entirely new direction with the character of Tyrion Lannister for season 4.”

The site went on to explain that Warwick Davis, a British comedian, would be replacing Dinklage in the series.

They quote author George R.R. Martin as saying “Warwick was actually my pick back in 2009 when we first began looking at potential cast members. It finally hit me last week while taking an indefinite break from writing The Winds of Winter to catch up with some of my favorite movies. I think it was his epic role in ‘Willow’ that finally convinced me.”

Warwick, according to the article, was asking a cool 1 million per episode.

“We’ll be seeing a lot less of the dragons and direwolves due to the new budgeting that will have to be done to compensate. But in the end it’s a small price to pay for this kind of acting gravitas.”

Warwick's face would also be superimposed over Dinklage on any DVD releases to maintain flow, it was added.

After major fan outrage, at the end of the day the article was edited to clarify.

“I know, I know this was one of the cruelest jokes anyone could have played on the first of April.. and just hours after the season 3 premiere!   Everyone would be devastated if something happened to Peter and his relationship with Tyrion Lannister… We apologize for any hurt feelings, friends lost or keyboards/monitors smashed as the result of our little April fools gag.  We know most of you took it in stride.”

Whew!