As of the Game of Thrones panel at ComicCon this past weekend Jason Momoa is now on record as staying that in a fight between Khal Drogo and Conan the Cimmerian, “Drogo would kick Conan’s ass.” This doesn’t seem to have evoked much opposition at the panel itself, but there’s since been some discussion on whether that’s a smart thing for Momoa to say in light of the upcoming Conan film. Should he be saying that a character he’s already played could beat up the character he’s playing in the film he’s supposed to be promoting right now?
From a marketing/PR perspective it certainly doesn’t help a film for the lead actor to say, even indirectly, that he doesn’t have confidence in the character he’s playing, especially if, as noted above, Conan’s the star of the film, whereas Khal Drogo is really only a secondary character unlikely to be seen again. I won’t presume to know whether he was genuinely speaking his mind or just being polite to Martin, or if it was a well-considered or simply spur-of-the-moment response, but I will say that he clearly enjoyed playing Drogo (based on his response; I haven’t seen the TV series yet, much to my frustration) and probably didn’t want to do him any disservice.
This post makes a good point in arguing that he could’ve done that by calling it a draw. Then again, calling the fight a draw might feel like a cop-out, and given the high-profile nature of the venue, it does kinda put him under pressure to give a straight answer. Although it’s true that we haven’t seen any real demonstration of Drogo’s prowess in the books (his fight from the TV series being an original scene; apparently it was Momoa’s idea (3:23 p.m.)), only hearsay and the praise of others, but I doubt, and certainly hope, that Martin didn’t mean it to be false. It definitely is smarter to promote what’s coming over what’s already finished, but regardless of who won I’m sure it’d be extremely close either way. It definitely feels like they’d be well-matched opponents, so it’s not like Momoa would be impugning on Drogo’s prowess if he went with Conan. Given Conan’s larger, more well-established legacy, he could always say that it’s a case of “beaten by the best.”
Maybe this will hurt the reputation of the Conan film, maybe it’ll all just be a splash in the pond that’s forgotten come August 19th, maybe Momoa will change his mind at a later event; I don't think it matters a great deal. These “who would win?” arguments are, after all, primarily a matter of personal preference and taste, but we’ll inevitably get the wider fandom’s take on this match-up come the 2012 Suvudu Cage Match. It was probably gonna happen already, but I’d say now it definitely is.
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