Winter is coming...
From George R. R. Martin's epic A Song of Ice and Fire book series comes a new HBO series called "A Game of Thrones."
This is not your parents' fantasy series. With a smaller focus on magic and other-worldliness and a stronger focus on political machinations and secret plots, it's been described as "The Sopranos in Middle-Earth." Filled with sex, war, violence, incest, backstabbing, and unexpected twists and turns, the books are more like historical fiction than what you expect from something labelled as "fantasy." Martin breathes fresh new life in a series that was growing stale with predictability. If you think you know what's going to happen, you're wrong. If you think you know who's good and who's bad, you're wrong.
When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.
GoT is set in Westeros, a world not terribly unlike medieval Europe, except for the fact that summers can last years, and winters can last decades. At the start of the series, it has been summer for many years.... but Winter Is Coming. To the north is a 100 foot tall wall made of ice, guarded by a small band of outlaws and exiles called The Night's Watch, protecting the south from bands of wildlings in the forests... and something else, something more wicked, that has gone unseen so long its been all but forgotten. To the south is the Seven Kingdoms, ruled by King Robert Baratheon, who won the crown in a war against the crazed King Aerys Targaryen. The Targaryens ruled the lands for many years, commanding the powers of now-extinct dragons. Across the sea to the east, however, the last of the Targaryens are plotting their return to the Seven Kingdoms to take back the Iron Throne... This may sound like your standard fantasy fair, but this is just the setup. This IS
epic fantasy we're talking about. I can't really go into the story without going into major spoilers, so you'll have to trust me when I say its filled with twists and turns, intrigue and manipulation.
Now, about the series!
A Game of Thrones is currently under production with a tentative Spring 2011 air date. The first season will be ten episodes long and cover the entire first book of the series. George R. R. Martin will be working closely with the production and is even writing an episode of the series. Filming is taking place primarily in Northern Ireland, with additional shooting in Malta.
The Cast:
This series has a HUGE cast of characters (about 80 or so for just the first season, not including extras) so I won't list them all here, but some of the notable names are:
Sean Bean as Eddard Stark, Warden of the North and Lord of Winterfell.
Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon, King of the Seven Kingdoms
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, his Queen, and daughter of Lord Tywin Lannister, head of one of the most powerful families in Westeros.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was Jaime Lannister, Cersei's brother. Killed the crazed King Aerys during Robert's rebellion, earning him the nickname The Kingslayer
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, dwarf brother of Jaime and Cersei. Not well-respected in his family due to his dwarfism.
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, exiled princess and one of the last of House Targaryen, the former rulers of Westeros.
Harry Lloyd as Viserys Targaryen, Daenerys's older brother intent to retake his father's throne at any cost.
Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo, leader of a large army of powerful, savage warriors. Viserys sells Daenerys to him as a bride in return for an army to take back the Iron Throne.
I'm *really* excited about this series, both as a fan of HBO and a fan of the books. I know I can't be the only one here that's looking forward to this.
Pleeeeease keep this thread spoiler-free for those here that haven't read the series, or at least
big flashing warning signs in your posts that SPOILERS ARE AHEAD.
Additional information:
Winter Is Coming Fan blog covering every last detail of the production of the series, also includes an in-depth
cast and
crew list.
NOT SPOILER-FREEThe official HBO website of the series. User comments may contain spoilers.
Official production blog. Mostly spoiler-free, no major story points are spoiled.
Credits go to Winter-is-Coming.net for supplying information and cast images.