Filming on Game of Thrones season 8 is set to begin in October and the preproduction machine is already lurching to life, with activity returning to several popular shooting locations. And now, Watchers on the Wall reports that HBO is looking for a couple of actors to fill some brand new roles! It’s our last first casting calls ever!
Per Watchers, HBO needs to fill two roles:
- A Northern Girl. This character is 8-10 years old, was brought up in a family of soldiers, and displays “dauntlessness and integrity.” The role is said to be “very nice stand-out part for a strong-minded young girl with a fighting spirit.”
That sounds more than a little like our girl Lyanna Mormont. Maybe she’s brought over one of her relatives from Bear Island? Also, recall that, in the first episode of season 7, the Northern lords committed to training both boys and girls to fight to fight the coming White Walker menace. Perhaps with that particular glass ceiling shattered, more young would-be Briennes and Aryas will come to the fore.
Next up:
- A Boy. This character is 8-12 years old, physically fit, and comes from a poor background; kid had to fight to carve out a place for himself in the world. The actor needs to “completely own the scenes that he appears in.” Note that that’s ‘scenes’ with an ‘s’. This character will appear more than once.
The fact that this casting call doesn’t describe the boy as Northern makes us think that he’s…not Northern. Twist.
Considering the show’s history of success when it comes to finding excellent child actors, we expect good things from this pair of characters. This reminds us a little of what happened before season 7, when the show was looking to cast young actors to play Alys Karstark and Ned Umber, although we didn’t know the identity of the characters at the time. Ned and Alys only appeared for a moment in the season 7 premiere, when Jon Snow let them inherit their father’s castles despite their father’s crimes. It sounds like the Boy, at least, may have more to do in season 8.
This is the last time we’re ever going to do this casting song and dance, excepting the prequel series…it’s kind of wistful.
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