‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel Adds Five New Cast Members
Production on HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series, The Long Night, is moving forward, as the series has announced five new regular cast members.
The Long Night looks to be following a familiar format to Game of Thrones as it begins to establish its ensemble cast. The new additions are a mix of young and experienced actors, and it’s not yet clear who they might be playing.
John Simm (Life on Mars, Doctor Who), Marquis Rodriguez (When They See Us), Richard McCabe (Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, Notting Hill), John Heffernan (Dracula, The Crown) and Dixie Egerickx (The Secret Garden, Patrick Melrose) are all set to join the series in as-yet unnamed roles. They will join Naomi Watts and Josh Whitehouse, both of whom have also been cast in lead roles that haven’t yet been revealed.
The series has been written by showrunner Jane Goldman and George R. R. Martin himself, who famously wrote the A Song of Ice and Fire book series on which Game of Thrones and The Long Night are based. The Long Night will take place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, chronicling Westeros’s descent from the Golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour.
Fans are rightfully speculating that the show will show us the mysterious origins of the White Walkers, the details of which have been touched on both in the show and George R. R. Martin’s books, but in truth, very little is actually known about them. David Benioff, co-showrunner on Game of Thrones, has said he thinks of the Night King as ‘Death’, and thus has no desire to shed much more light on his motivations than what we’ve seen so far.
‘The Long Night’ that is frequently referenced in Game of Thrones and the source material takes place 8,000 years before the Targaryens arrive in Westeros, so it will be interesting if the show decides to alter that part of history. Martin’s involvement would suggest not, as he works to create a show that honors the world he built, but it is hard to imagine a Game of Thrones story without Targaryens or dragons.
We’ll see exactly how they plan to solve that question in the next year or so. We’ll let you know as soon as we learn more.
Josh is a huge a fan of Star Wars, superheroes and video games. He spends most of his time wondering who would win in a fight between Boba Fett and Star Lord.
