Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy Cast in House of the Dragon

[zionius]

This suggests The Illuminerdi is trustworthy in HotD rumors. Based on their reports, it will probably begin around 105 AC (Daemon described heir), as described in the logline:

Quote

The prequel series finds the Targaryen dynasty at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires—real and imagined—crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins almost 193 years before the events of Game of Thrones, when King Viserys Targaryen breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm.

The logline suggests they'd make it to 107 AC (Aegon's birth) at least, when Rhaenyra is 15 and Alicent 19. 

Harrold Westerling as Series Regular suggests S1 will end in around 111AC (the tourney when Blacks and Greens are named) or 112 AC (Harrold's death), when Rhaenyra is 20 and Alicent 24.

Emma D’Arcy is 28 and Olivia Cooke 26, they can play Rhaenyra and Alicent 112 AC, and perhaps also Rhaenyra and Alicent in 105 AC.

Redanian Intelligence reports they are finding Young Rhaenyra and Alicent, I guess they are to play Rhaenyra and Alicent in 101 AC, a flashback to the Great Council.

[Lord Varys]

3 minutes ago, zionius said:

This suggests The Illuminerdi is trustworthy in HotD rumors. Based on their reports, it will probably begin around 105 AC (Daemon described heir), as described in the logline:

The logline suggests they'd make it to 107 AC (Aegon's birth) at least, when Rhaenyra is 15 and Alicent 19. 

Harrold Westerling as Series Regular suggests S1 will end in around 111AC (the tourney when Blacks and Greens are named) or 112 AC (Harrold's death), when Rhaenyra is 20 and Alicent 24.

Emma D’Arcy is 28 and Olivia Cooke 26, they can play Rhaenyra and Alicent 112 AC, and perhaps also Rhaenyra and Alicent in 105 AC.

Redanian Intelligence reports they are finding Young Rhaenyra and Alicent, I guess they are to play Rhaenyra and Alicent in 101 AC, a flashback to the Great Council.

I'd expect the first season to close on the end of the Rhaenyra-Criston thing, regardless how they play it.

And there is certainly a lot of potential for friction and scheming prior to the proper Black and Green factions simply the Velaryons are a faction of their own until they are, eventually, included into the Black faction.

If they want to take their time with things then Rhaenyra becoming the Heir Apparent is not only a slap in Daemon's face, but also the Velaryons ... because while Rhaenyra is a king's daughter she is still a woman, and if the king doesn't want Daemon as his heir the next in line in 105 AC should have been Laenor, not Rhaenyra.

I'd expect depending on the importance of the Westerling fellow for the plot they might have him die around the time Rhaenyra marries and the Cole affair thing ends.

I think ten episodes covering events from 105-113 AC could make a great season, even if they their time to use flashbacks for Great Council scenes, and, one imagines, also to show Viserys and Daemon in their youth - which, as I said in the past, should be very important to make the audience understand their dynamic - and perhaps also give us glimpes of Jaehaerys and Alysanne.

But the focus is very likely going to be on court intrigue, romances, plotting, etc. They might even find the time to include Daemon's exploits on the Stepstones which could provide some good action scenes ... and might involve Princess Rhaenys and Meleys fighting at his side.

This wouldn't have been possible if they were rushing through the reign of Viserys I just in a single season as so many people speculated before.

As for regulars, I do hope we are also going to get Laenor and Laena, and also Lyonel, Harwin, and Larys Strong for season 1. Otto Hightower also seems to be a given. A Grand Maester would be nice, too, but he doesn't have to show up all the time, I guess. Aegon the Elder is likely going to be featured only as a boy, with Helaena and Aemond being just children, too.

[Rose of Red Lake]

Seeing a lot of shallow people are complaining about Matt Smith not being attractive enough. Ugh, this fandom. Would folks rather have Keeping Up with the Targaryens?

Casting from the Crown is on point. Daemon's exploits and treatment of women (i.e. disposable, anything to help him get closer to the crown; insufferably self-centered) reminds me of Prince Charles, with Nettles being his Camilla. Should be ahem...interesting.

[SpaceChampion]

4 hours ago, The Dragon Demands said:

More news from generally reliable source Redanian Intelligence, who said they heard two major details a while ago:

https://redanianintelligence.com/2020/12/09/game-of-thrones-prequel-house-of-the-dragon-casting-hints-at-different-timelines/

• 1  - They've actually seen casting descriptions that "YR" and "YA" needed to be ready to film by April 2021.  I wish they'd told us sooner, because it's blatantly obvious that stands for "Young Rhaenyra" and "Young Alicent"! 
• 2 - ....they've heard descriptions that the series begins "precisely 193 years before Game of Thrones" - which began in the year 298 AC (TV date was the same they just pushed back Robert's Rebellion)....and thus, the leaks they saw said it begins in the year 105 AC...the year that Rhaenyra's mother Queen Aemma Arryn died.  

I wonder if we'd actually see the Great Council of Harrenhal.  Even then, time skips are a huge issue; clearly it wouldn't be MOSTLY set in 105 AC, as they cast a mid-20s Rhaenyra.  So maybe Harrenhal is a flashback sequence in a later episode or merely described to save production money.

Another possibility is that "Young Rhaenyra" and "Young Alicent" don't actually refer to THESE two actresses; there will probably be an "even Younger Rhaenyra" for when her mother dies.

The complications of the 30 year time span in Rogue Prince.

I can't remember if it was that site or elsewhere that suggested there wouldn't necessarily be doing one-off "flashbacks" with the YR and YA actors, but actually doing two simultaneous timelines, one beginning 105 AC and the other beginning shortly before the Dance.

[The Dragon Demands]

sort of a Breaking Bad kind of thing?

[SpaceChampion]

1 hour ago, The Dragon Demands said:

sort of a Breaking Bad kind of thing?

That's not HBO, that's television!

I mean, you had triple timelines in the Witcher, so why not with HOTD?

[Lord Varys]

If there were different timelines we would also have casting news about the Dance folks - Tyland Lannister and Larys Strong, the Velaryon boys, Aegon III and Viserys II, Cregan Stark, various later Kingsguard, Addam and Alyn Velaryon, the Targaryen twins, etc.

We would also not get descriptions refusing to mention that Daemon is married to Rhaenyra, that Alicent is the queen, etc.

Not to mention that it would be utterly pointless to give the back story while telling another. This whole thing will only work if there is linear storytelling, starting at an early point.

[The Dragon Demands]

Here's a thought...wouldn't it have been easier to make Addam and Alyn Velaryon black?  As they're legitimized bastards with a non-Valyrian mother?

[Annara Snow]

8 hours ago, Rose of Red Lake said:

Seeing a lot of shallow people are complaining about Matt Smith not being attractive enough. Ugh, this fandom. Would folks rather have Keeping Up with the Targaryens?

 

No, I think the fandom would prefer actors that fit the role, both in terms of looks and overall presence.

Quote

Casting from the Crown is on point. Daemon's exploits and treatment of women (i.e. disposable, anything to help him get closer to the crown; insufferably self-centered) reminds me of Prince Charles, with Nettles being his Camilla. Should be ahem...interesting.

Yikes, what a terrible idea. The irony of you accusing the fandom of wanting a reality show about modern celebrities people gossip about, just because fans point out Smith is miscast - only to argue it would be great if the show was an obvious stand-in for a show about modern celebrities people like to gossip about, isn't lost on me.

[Annara Snow]

10 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

 

I don't know, they are explorers, why couldn't they have brought back some wife from the Summer Isles or elsewhere? Of course, if Rhaenyra having black sons by Laenor Velaryon is going to be an issue for the Greens, then this wouldn't be that great take on things ... although I actually would prefer racist bigotry as a concept to this silly 'their father isn't their real father because they don't look like him' bigotry thing, now that I think about it.

 

How is it a silly concept to argue that princes are illegitimate and therefore cannot inherit the throne? That's an actual, huge part of Westerosi culture. Even in Dorne, bastards can't inherit.

And it's not "they don't look like their father" but "they don't look like either of their parents but instead look like their mother's rumored lover", which is pretty much just common sense.

[Rose of Red Lake]

38 minutes ago, Annara Snow said:

No, I think the fandom would prefer actors that fit the role, both in terms of looks and overall presence.

Ummm they want "perfect humans" which is impossible and scary. Similar reactions happened when Cersei and Jaime were cast. It even got back to Nik that fans were complaining about his nose. Of course, no one cares about that now. Give the actors a chance.

48 minutes ago, Annara Snow said:

Yikes, what a terrible idea. The irony of you accusing the fandom of wanting a reality show about modern celebrities people gossip about, just because fans point out Smith is miscast - only to argue it would be great if the show was an obvious stand-in for a show about modern celebrities people like to gossip about, isn't lost on me.

Its not my "idea" for how to write it, its how Damon's character reads and how audiences will perceive him. Cheats on first wife, calls her a "bronze bitch," she dies falling off a horse and her body isnt even cold before he proposes to someone in House Velaryon, she dies giving birth to a son who dies, then 2 seconds later marries Rhaenyra so he can be closer to the crown, then cheats on her. Its a story about royals behaving trashy.

[The Bard of Banefort]

1 hour ago, Annara Snow said:

No, I think the fandom would prefer actors that fit the role, both in terms of looks and overall presence.

Thank you. Plus, no one called Matt Smith ugly, we just said that he didn't look like the way Daemon is described. Nevertheless, judging by his rabid fanbase, I'm sure his acting will be fine.

Maybe they'll cast a person of color (whatever that may mean in this case) for Harwin Strong, that way it's more obvious that Rhaenyra's children aren't Laenor's.

Unless they use prosthetics, they may have to re-cast Alicent in later seasons, since her children will be close to the same age that the actress is now. 

[The Dragon Demands]

2 hours ago, Annara Snow said:

How is it a silly concept to argue that princes are illegitimate and therefore cannot inherit the throne? That's an actual, huge part of Westerosi culture. Even in Dorne, bastards can't inherit.

And it's not "they don't look like their father" but "they don't look like either of their parents but instead look like their mother's rumored lover", which is pretty much just common sense.

It's the same reason the war against Joffrey started!

[Werthead]

The White Queen had twenty-something actors playing the same characters as teenagers and forty-somethings across thirty years of the Wars of the Roses, even when they had children played by actors as old as themselves. They did some great work with moderate aging makeup on that show.

[Lord Varys]

7 hours ago, The Dragon Demands said:

Here's a thought...wouldn't it have been easier to make Addam and Alyn Velaryon black?  As they're legitimized bastards with a non-Valyrian mother?

Would have been easier, I guess - but then, they would not show up prior to season 3 or 4, depending how long we spent in the reign of Viserys I. What we know so far indicates we have to reckon there are at least two seasons for the Dance buildup, not just one.

And I think that's necessary for them to also show how Westeros at large - the lords and ladies and knights - do view the growing rift in the royal family. They are likely going to include various great lords earlier into the Black and Green factions rather than deciding to make this kind of recruiting only going on in 129 AC.

2 hours ago, Annara Snow said:

How is it a silly concept to argue that princes are illegitimate and therefore cannot inherit the throne? That's an actual, huge part of Westerosi culture. Even in Dorne, bastards can't inherit.

Because this is pretty much the same play Stannis and Ned used in GoT. It is a rehash of an already established idea. But then - Corlys can be black and they can play out the plot from the book. That isn't mutually exclusive.

2 hours ago, Annara Snow said:

And it's not "they don't look like their father" but "they don't look like either of their parents but instead look like their mother's rumored lover", which is pretty much just common sense.

Oh, they also don't have Rhaenyra's coloring but if you go back and check the book then nobody ever has an issue with that. The problem is that they don't look like their father, not that they don't look like their mother as well. Alicent mocks Laenor because he is incapable of fathering a child that looks like him.

And to be clear - bastards in Westeros are people born out of wedlock. Children born in wedlock are legitimate children regardless how they look - that is why Stannis and Alicent spreading rumors and making weird claims actually have no legal consequences whatsoever ... while a child born out of wedlock who looks like his father can look this way all day - it will never make him or her legitimate.

It is implied that King Viserys or King Robert could have declared the children in question bastards - just as Laenor Velaryon likely could have claimed that his wife was cheating on him - but this would have involved some sort of trial.

42 minutes ago, Werthead said:

The White Queen had twenty-something actors playing the same characters as teenagers and forty-somethings across thirty years of the Wars of the Roses, even when they had children played by actors as old as themselves. They did some great work with moderate aging makeup on that show.

Yeah, one can also think about how long Max Pirkis could play Octavian in Rome - the guy was around sixteen or so when he played a character that was supposed to be eleven at that point, and it worked great simply because the way he slouches in the early scenes and behaves like an insecure, young boy.

[The Dragon Demands]

(sigh)

okay, even Deadline only heard that Danny Sapani was a leading contender to play Corlys Velaryon, and we don't have confirmation.

I'm concerned that Rhaenyra's official description emphasizes that she's "Of Pure Valyrian Blood".....perhaps because Laenor won't be?

BUT maybe that's just to point out that there's no reason to doubt her personal claim to the Iron Throne, the way it's phrased: "of pure Valyrian blood and a dragon-rider" - i.e. she has everything right except being a man.

[The Bard of Banefort]

23 minutes ago, The Dragon Demands said:

BUT maybe that's just to point out that there's no reason to doubt her personal claim to the Iron Throne, the way it's phrased: "of pure Valyrian blood and a dragon-rider" - i.e. she has everything right except being a man.

I believe that was the implication, yes.

[The Dragon Demands]

Yeah...but all that means is that the Rhaenyra description doesn't imply one way or the other - but they could still be casting a black Corlys Velaryon regardless of that.

[The Bard of Banefort]

One interesting thing about the cast so far is that, as far as I know--and please do correct me if I'm wrong--none of them were in any previous HBO shows. HBO tends to recycle their actors, so this is pretty unusual. Case in point: https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-recurring-actors-and-actresses-on-shows-2015-6

(Side-note: now that I've posted this, it would be really funny if it turned out that Michael K. Williams was cast as Corlys lol).

[Ran]

Paddy Considine was a major secondary character in The Outsider. These new ones, nope, none of them have been on HBO before I think.