Concept art for Game of Thrones has revealed a chilling original design for The Night King.
Sketches signed off by Thrones production designer Deborah Riley reveal that in the original process for creating the character, the leader of The White Walkers had a wildly different look.
The Night King cuts a much more wraith-like figure in the images, more akin to the Ring Wraiths from JRR Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings.
The armour that the character would wear in his subsequent appearances has been replaced by regal-looking robes, and even his icy crown is much more elaborate and high-fantasy. He also appears to be sporting an icy beard.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Riley says that she and her team had to create a ‘stand-in’ character for the Big Bad initially, due to the fact that there was no character reference or actor to work off.
Prosthetic designer Barry Gower was responsible for the final look of The Night King as seen in the show, and said his original brief for the character was someone ‘regal’ but with ‘familiar White Walker traits.’
The concept art is based on The Night King’s introductory scene in the show, during the closing moments of Oathbreaker, the fourth episode of season four. There, we see the character for the first time at a gathering of White Walkers as the baddie single-handedly turns one of Craster’s baby sons into a White Walker.
Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss recently opened up about a controversial aspect of filming this moment as they left the baby in question terrified whilst being placed naked on the ice.
Similar sketches from the show are featured in the book The Art of Game of Thrones, which gives readers an exclusive look into the making of HBO’s high-fantasy epic.
The book has already revealed a previously hidden detail which helps to explain Daenerys Targaryen’s destruction of Kings’ Landing in the final season, as well as sharing that a pivotal moment was cut before Jon killed the Dragon Queen in the controversial series finale.
In other Game of Thrones news, the first prequel series has been commissioned by HBO; House of the Dragon will follow House Targaryen 300 years before the events of the main series.
Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are available to stream on NOW TV.
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