Charlie Hunnam on his missed opportunity to appear in Game of Thrones

Charlie Hunnam in King Arthur

We’ve reported on some interesting casting choices for the upcoming season of Game of Thrones over the past few months. Singer Ed Sheeran, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, and Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds are all slated to appear (albeit briefly) in season seven. Now The Sun brings news of a casting that might have been – actor Charlie Hunnam. Details are few, but there is some spoilery speculation below the cut!

The Sons of Anarchy and King Arthur star doesn’t say exactly when he was approached for the role, but he clearly regrets the missed opportunity. “I would love to do a Game of Thrones cameo,” Hunnam says. “They offered me a cameo on that show a little while ago but I was shooting something else so I wasn’t able to do it, but maybe in the future, who knows.”

“A little while ago” could mean an earlier season, but it may very well have been for this year. Considering Hunnam has two movies releasing in 2017, he likely would have been quite busy during season seven filming. Was Hunnam offered a role that went to one of the other celebrities listed above, or could it have been more noteworthy?

Many fans have wondered if Rhaegar Targaryen would make an appearance in one of Bran’s visions, and Hunnam’s name has been circulated among the fandom as a potential choice. It would seem strange to have a well known actor play an insignificant bit part, and Rhaegar’s role – while small – would be hugely important to the story.

What do you think? Let us know your guesses in the comments!

132 Comments

  1. Saw him fan cast for Rhaegar a couple years ago and he’s been my dream pick ever since! Too bad…

  2. Hunnam filmed The Lost City of Z around Belfast and N.I. in the fall of 2015, during the filming of GoT season 6. So I’m wondering this was for a s6 cameo, or if they were offering him a cameo in advance- like if it was for something s7ish after all. Since he definitely is so famous that you can’t just stick him in the background, and have him play some random commoner.

  3. Bring back Harry Lloyd for Rhaegar, just have him add some muscle and a white Fu Manchu moustache!

  4. I don’t think I’d like him playing Rhaegar. I kinda want to have someone kinda unknown to play this character, like they did with Lyanna.

    Plus, is he melancholy enough? Like truly? Lyanna seemed pretty upbeat and sweet even while dying, so Rhaegar would really need to bring on the misery.

  5. Whew. Good. I don’t think my wife’s heart could make it if Kit and Charlie were on the screen at the same time. Not sure what’s happening to her. Anytime Kit is on the screen, she starts breathing weird and gets a goggle-eyed. Same for Charlie. ??‍♂️?

    I do wonder what character they had in mind for Charlie. Could kinda see him as Rhaeger, but I completely agree with Gina–I’d rather have an unknown play Rhaeger. Worked great for younger Ned.

  6. Extra Stark, Please,

    Yes! It did. It would have been weird if Ned was played by someone known. Plus they did such a good job at casting Lyanna to look exactly like Jon and Arya which is what she was supposed to look like. So Rhaegar would have to be on par with the broodiness of Jon Snow. I think that is even more important than being extremely handsome.

  7. Strange. Charlie Hunnam seems to make news for the movies he couldn’t do more than the movies he’s in. Eg he was supposed to be in 50 Shades of Grey, and Pacific Rim 2.

    Forget him. I wanna see Emma Stone as a wildling, Jenna Coleman as a red priestess, — or Samuel L. Jackson as R’hillor to go medieval on the Night King’s -ss.

  8. I would like to seen him in GOT..

    But at this point I wish the show just doesn’t give us Rhaegar on screen ..

    If it was so necessary we can just have kit in a wig or bring back viserys .

  9. Psst… Charlie… make yourself available if they come ’round about a new series. 😉

    It was nice that they found so much great, new talent for GoT. I would like to see that again from the next producers for whatever HBO decides to do. However, it’s also been nice to have some established actors that fit so perfectly for specific roles. I mean, wow, Charles Dance could not have been more perfect for Tywin for example.

  10. Dee Stark:
    Oh cool
    Who wouldn’t want a role on GOT anyway? Lol!

    Anyone seen King Arthur?

    On my todo. but the reviews I’ve seen not well received.

  11. I don’t see him as Rheagar. I picture Rheagar as muscle-y, yet also the sensitive musician type. Hunamm is too…brute strength in-yo-face. He could not have played Christian Grey well either, imo. But very nice to look at. 🙂

  12. For some reason Charlie has always been Rhaegar in my mind and i would really love to see him do anything in GOT

  13. Grail King,

    Eh, i prefer to form my own opinion on a movie when i see it myself rather than listening to most movie critics,plenty of movies that they bashed i found them enjoyable an vice versa plenty of movies that they praised to high ends i found them to be dull and pretentious . Now,don’t get me wrong,i don’t expect this movie to award winning worthy or anything but it could be a fun popcorn flick .

  14. I work for a London-based agency and Vanessa Redgrave is in early negotiations to play a role in the last season of Game of Thrones. Rumor has it that she will play the future version of a major protagonist and not a new character, but though the role would only take a few days to shoot it could overlap with her planned West End schedule in September. HBO really wants her so they’re trying to work out a deal with Gavin Barker Associates ahead of time. You’ll probably be hearing official confirmation soon.

  15. dragonbringer,

    I don’t think having Kit played Rhaegar would be a smart move. For one, Jon is said to look very Stark. Jon and Arya are described as looking like one another, favoring their father in looks, and Arya is supposed to look very much like his aunt Lyanna. And then there is the problem that if Jon were to look like his bio father then those who were around when Rhaegar lived would be somewhat curious about Ned’s bastard son looking the slain prince. Jamie had a scene with Jon and he knew Rhaegar fairly well. He would have noticed the resemblance, wouldn’t he? So would have Stannis and Robert for that matter.

  16. Susan,

    After all that b.s. about Angela Lansbury appearing in GoT, please understand if I’m a bit skeptical without proof.

    Though, if true, could be interesting to speculate who she’d play.

  17. Susan: Vanessa Redgrave is in early negotiations to play a role in the last season of Game of Thrones. Rumor has it that she will play the future version of a major protagonist

    That’s interesting. If true and accurate her age would be a long jump into the future if she’s one of the main characters. It could be a Bran-vision too I guess. Vanessa is a taller woman so of the likely options one may think Sansa. In some pictures of her as a younger woman she actually looks somewhat similar to Sophie too. *shrug*

  18. Danny,

    Yeah, but I’ve been told a bajillion times I look like Chris Daugherty, doesn’t mean I’m kin to him–I’m not. Though I would gladly accept donations for appearances as such. ?

    Plus, it’s been nearly 20yrs since anyone saw Rhaegar. Don’t have polaroids, so no way to have a quick reference.

  19. Danny,

    I agree with you But to be honest I don’t think show will care about those things now as they have shown us in recent seasons .

    Let’s just Harry Lloyd and still think its better they didn’t do rhaegar at all

  20. dragonbringer: still think its better they didn’t do rhaegar at all

    I don’t know… They definitely need to do more to explain the true situation. There are viewers and even readers that haven’t even figured out who Jon’s father is yet. I personally know two of them. One was thinking Robert and the other actually still thought Ned!?

    Do they need to do a scene with Rhaegar? No. They could simply have someone find written evidence that R + L were something other than a kidnapper and captive. That still wouldn’t be proof that it was a loving and consensual relationship. Written material can also be “doctored.” They may want to SHOW the truth to the viewers… It may be something Jon needs to know as well, either from Bran seeing it or seeing it for himself through Bran somehow.

  21. I agree–Rhaegar should be played by a little-known actor. That Devin Oliver who was rumoured for a while certainly looked right, but since he’s a singer and not an actor, I doubt he could handle Rhaegar if he’s extensively featured. A short stint would work, probably.

    Vanessa Redgrave would have to be an older Sansa–there’s considerable resemblance. I hope the rumour is wrong because it gives away a character’s fate. I hope they also get Judi Dench for the older, white-haired Arya. There’s some resemblance there too. Truth to tell, I sincerely hope HBO can keep a lid on all leaks, even casting leaks, next season. Even snippets of info make it easy for fans to intuit what’s going to happen. I’m probably going to try to avoid leaks, though up till now I’ve soaked them up because (as a rule) they weren’t for final outcomes.

    It would be fun for Kobe to do a cameo. Maybe he could be Salladhor Saan’s son. Kobe came out as a GoT fan ages ago. And his favourite character is Arya. Speaking of whom, I suppose you’re all aware that it was announced yesterday that Maisie will co-star in X-Men, New Mutants as rumoured and and that filming will begin in July. Congrats to our Maisie.

  22. Stark Raven’ Rad: I hope they also get Judi Dench for the older, white-haired Arya.

    Stark Raven’ Rad,

    I love Judy Dench, but to me, it would be weird seeing her in GoT. I associate her with M from the Bond movies, so seeing her in the GoT world would take me out of the story a bit.

    (Btw, I think M stood for Mansfield if anyone cares, lol)

  23. I haven’t read the books so I have no idea what Rhaegar is supposed to look like, but in the show universe, Charlie Hunnam has the colouring and that square-jawed look of a Lannister. Casterly Rock wasn’t totally abandoned, was it? Someone’s got to be kicking around there. Maybe he was offered a brief part there, reluctantly handing the keys back to his cousin Jaime…

    (p.s. no spoilers please, I haven’t seen any leaks and am just guessing here)

  24. I suppose Vanessa Redgrave could be a credible much-older Sansa. But if you look at pictures of her with short hair in her youth, the resemblance to Cersei is arguably even stronger (it’s the cheekbones, as Tyrion says). Not that we expect Cersei to survive the series, but they could surprise us.

  25. Susan,

    Wow! Assuming you’re not a troll, this could be significant news. It might mean that S8 will include the aftermath of “the Long Night”, i.e. after a generation of darkness and death.

    As for the older version of a known character Vanessa Redgrave could play, my guess would be Sansa. Although I’ve speculated Sansa won’t make it through S8 alive, Vanessa Redgrave (80 years old; 5’11” tall) does have some remembrance to Sophie Turner. GoT Sansa + 60 years could be played by Vanessa Redgrave.

    I hope this report doesn’t get filed away in the “Angela Lansbury False Casting Rumour” pile.

  26. Clob,

    They can just provide a detailed explaining of the events that happened once more ..after all they have mentioned it many times rhaegar had lyanna with him and we only require them to tell us that he had been with her for nearly a year

    P.S I would have loved to see Eric bana play a part in the series as well ..

  27. That’s a shame – Charlie Hunnam making a cameo on Thrones would have been great, particularly if that cameo was indeed Rhaegar. Like many people here, I’ve generally been of the opinion that if Rhaegar ever appears, he should be played by an unknown actor. But Hunnam does excel at playing the kind of quiet intensity that fits what we know of Rhaegar’s personality, and which would certainly help the character stand out during what would likely be less than a minute or two of screentime (Such a cameo would also be sure to spark rumors of Hunnam reprising the role in a potential Robert’s Rebellion spinoff – not that I think he’s likely to sign on to another long-running television series at this stage of his career). Alas, the role was likely something else, and it’s a moot point now. Oh well.

    As an aside, The Lost City of Z is probably my favorite movie of 2017 so far. I thought it was a breathtaking meditation on the joys of discovery and the perils of obsession, and it’s a film that doesn’t work without the quiet, yet powerful lead performance that Hunnam delivers (Sienna Miller is also extraordinary in a role that could have easily been so much less). It’s not the kind of movie that everyone will love, but it struck my particular wavelength quite acutely.

    King Arthur also looks like fun. I may not race out to the theater to see it, but that’s the kind of movie that I’ll watch and almost certainly enjoy at some point, irrespective of what the critics think.

  28. Ten Bears,

    Exactly. The Game of Thrones community spreads rumors like wildfire. I’ll believe the rumors when they are substantiated with evidence.

    Afterall, I’m still waiting to find out what major characters are on the flaming Bolton crosses, lol

  29. Genghis Khan:
    Grail King,

    Eh, i prefer to form my own opinion on a movie when i see it myself rather than listening to most movie critics,plenty of movies that they bashed i found them enjoyable an vice versa plenty of movies that they praised to high ends i found them to be dull and pretentious . Now,don’t get me wrong,i don’t expect this movie to award winning worthy or anything but it could be a fun popcorn flick .

    Don’t get me wrong, I plan on seeing it been plenty of movies critics panned, that I love; if it says King Arthur in it I eventually watch it and buy it.

  30. Clob: That’s interesting.If true and accurate her age would be a long jump into the future if she’s one of the main characters.It could be a Bran-vision too I guess.Vanessa is a taller woman so of the likely options one may think Sansa.In some pictures of her as a younger woman she actually looks somewhat similar to Sophie too.*shrug*

    I would love that!!, just re-watched Camelot last night and if she plays an older Sansa that be cherry on top for me, she and Sophie are close in height with Vanessa a inch or 2 taller.

  31. Susan,

    To me it’s pretty obvious this is a Sansa fan trying to cleverly hint Sansa sits the Iron Throne at the end and we see the end of her glorious 70 year peace and prosperity reign in a Bran fast forward. Yeah, I don’t think so. Sorry. Props for the cleverness of the idea though. It is better than some of the other stuff people have tried in the past.

  32. Vanessa Redgrave makes for a great older Sansa or Cersei. Either way can’t wait to have her on board. Has anyone seen Atonement? She closed that film with a 3 minute scene and killed it.

  33. Sorry fam, but we need to see Rhaegar. Showing vs tellings and all that jazz.

    Charlie would have been an excellent Rhaegar, if that was truly the cameo he should have had. My other choice would be one of the Skarsgård brothers.

  34. Hayden Christensen should play Rhaegar!

    (Throws up in my mouth a little as I try to keep a straight face)

  35. Flayed Potatoes:
    Mr Derp,

    I can’t wait for the award-winning scene where he tells Lyanna how much he hates sand.

    I was going to say that he probably wouldn’t care much for the Red Waste of Essos or much of Dorne…

  36. orange:
    Susan,

    To me it’s pretty obvious this is a Sansa fan trying to cleverly hint Sansa sits the Iron Throne at the end and we see the end of her glorious 70 year peace and prosperity reign in a Bran fast forward. Yeah, I don’t think so. Sorry. Props for the cleverness of the idea though. It is better than some of the other stuff people have tried in the past.

    (bolding mine) Yup. And I’m already seeing the Sansa fans here and on Reddit getting excited about this unsubstantiated rumor and running with it. I guess with the S7 premiere just 2 months away we’re going to be seeing more of these “in the know” people popping up all over the place.

  37. Flayed Potatoes,

    “My other choice would be one of the Skarsgård brothers.”

    Yes, that’s exactly how I picture him. Tall with a lean muscular frame.
    The one Skarsgard I know of is def to old to play Rhaegar.

  38. Then we could have Ewen Mcgregor play the younger version of Robert Baratheon in Robert’s Rebellion so we could relive the epic disaster at the end of Revenge of the Sith but have it take place at the Trident where Obi-wan tells Anakin not to attack because he has the high ground. Oh god, I’m cringing just thinking about that scene.

    Does my best Darth Vader “NOooooooooooooooooooo!!”

  39. BunBunStark,

    It’s amazing how gullible and foolish people can be. I mean, we don’t know that it’s bullshit, but there’s really no reason to think it’s true yet or take it as a fact.

  40. ramses,

    I think Bill Skarsgård is in his early twenties (edit: I checked and he’s 26). The other two brothers who act are in their late thirties or early 40s. It could work with some makeup!

    The father is obviously out of the question lol.

  41. I just looked up the Skarsgard Family and wow there is a lot of them. I’m thinking Bill Skarsgard would be a good candidate. With the proper hair color he could resemble Daeny while simultaneously brooding it up like Jon.

  42. If Brandon Lee were alive, he’d make a pretty awesome Rhaegar…granted he’d have to dye his hair platinum/blonde of course.

    Sighs…c’est la vie. Or perhaps, more fitting, la morte.

  43. I just need Clive Owen cast as Ser Barristan Selmy, and meself as Bobby B and all will be well.

  44. Rygar,

    Well seeing as though Brandon Lee didn’t make it to 50, I have no idea how he’d look now. I was referring to the way he looked before he died.

  45. Mr Derp:
    Rygar,

    Well seeing as though Brandon Lee didn’t make it to 50, I have no idea how he’d look now.I was referring to the way he looked before he died.

    I agree, young forever Brandon would be perfect.

  46. Gina: I don’t think I’d like him playing Rhaegar. I kinda want to have someone kinda unknown to play this character, like they did with Lyanna.

    He’s totally unknown to me. 😉

  47. AE,

    I have not. Is he broody like Jon Snow? Maybe he could pull it off, just doesn’t look likely. Although he does have the looks at least.

  48. Mr Derp,

    I know you are probably kidding about the Hayden thing but he does at least have the tortured soul look required for the part..
    Maybe no speaking lines though 😉

  49. Gina:
    Mr Derp,

    I know you are probably kidding about the Hayden thing but he does at least have the tortured soul look required for the part..
    Maybe no speaking lines though

    Gina,

    Lol 🙂 …yup, I was totally kidding.

    I’d rather have Jar-Jar freakin Binks play Rhaegar than Hayden

  50. Mr Derp,

    I think everyone would rip their heads off if Hayden was really cast as Rhaegar.

    I personally don’t hate him but a LOT of people do haha

  51. I envision Rhaegar with a dreamy, youthful effervescence rather than a weathered soldier vibe like Hunnam would’ve brought to the role.
    He should come across as being full of potential yet seemingly intangible.

  52. ramses,

    Definitely. He died the year he would have turned 24, and was not a warrior by nature. I think you nailed it.

  53. Thanks.
    On a side note:
    It would go along with what GRRM and the show has set up. The one person whom embodies the hero Westoros needs is the same person we, the reader, think of initially as a villain.

  54. Rhaenyra,

    Yes. I saw “Atonement.” It blew. I was shocked, because its director Joe Wright directed a great movie, “Pride & Prejudice” with the same star (Keira Knightley) the year before.

    Plus, “Atonement” was depressing, from beginning to end.

  55. Ten Bears,

    We haven’t heard a schedule yet I don’t think. I’d assume it will be late in the year (again) since Winter should only be getting worse by the end of season 7 -> season 8…

  56. ramses: I envision Rhaegar with a dreamy, youthful effervescence

    His description was pretty clear in the books, there’s nothing dreamy about him, the guy was melancholic to the point that even Barristan took notice of it, such a trait doesn’t make it possible for him to have any youthful effervescence.

    I have no doubt he was gentle and kind, but he was born at the same day that most of his family died, and he never forgot it.

  57. Ten Bears:
    Rhaenyra,

    Yes. I saw “Atonement.”It blew. I was shocked, because its director Joe Wright directed a great movie, “Pride & Prejudice” with the same star (Keira Knightley) the year before.

    Plus, “Atonement” was depressing, from beginning to end.

    Thank goodness someone else hated it. From the very beginning, with the incessant ‘tap tap tap tap tap….’, to that little unlikable bitch played by Saoirse Ronan (unfortunately, she was so convincing in the role that it turned me off watching her in anything else), to the ending which just pissed me off further, I suppose you could say it just wasn’t for me. Shame, as I like so many of the actors in it.

  58. orange,

    That’s a lot of assumption on your part Mr Know it all,she didn’t even mention Sansa or Sophie Turner in the post,for all we know it could be a future Dany,Arya or whatever but you immediately jumped to thinking she’s a Sansa fangirl because you have a hate boner for a fictional character that’s a little bit unhealthy in my opinion . So i advise you to calm down and think before you attack other people like that,for all we know the rumor could be fake or not,either way the fact that you responded that way speaks more of your character than hers .

  59. It’s amazing how gullible and foolish people can be.I mean, we don’t know that it’s bullshit, but there’s really no reason to think it’s true yet or take it as a fact.

    It’s one think to be a skeptic and another thing to respond in a such a way like that guy did .

  60. Ten Bears: Plus, “Atonement” was depressing, from beginning to end.

    It was: but it was a very powerful and well-done movie for it! Some of the best movies ever made basically make people want to curl up in a ball and drink prosac smoothies for a week.

  61. I think Alexander Skarsgard would be a great rhaegar…. someone mentioned Charlie as a Lannister…. I have to agree, he’s more Lannister looking.

  62. Ten Bears:
    Stark Raven’ Rad,

    Maisie will be filming X-Men movie beginning in July? When does S8 GoT filming begin???

    I was wondering that myself, TB. I agree with Clob. Presumably, GoT will start filming mid-Autumn, as it did last year. I’ve seen few superhero franchise films (obviously due to Maisie and ST I have more interest now 🙂 ), but if they’re ensemble types, which New Mutants is, they probably do not take months and months for a given actor. I hope some interviewer asks her next year how it felt going from playing a wolf to playing with wolves. Any righty who fences left-handed should adjust well.

    (Giving a wolf whistle–SRR)

  63. Ten Bears,

    NOOOOO!!!!! Blasphemy. Joe Wright’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is horrible. Where do I begin?

    I’ll just post a response I made to a friend who hadn’t read the novel, and didn’t understand why book readers vastly prefer the 1995 BBC miniseries. (Obviously, I don’t know if you’ve read it or not.) Here it is…

    ***

    In its senseless choice of changing a number of settings, the film effectively negates Austen’s careful construction of space. The most jarring example is Elizabeth’s refusal of Mr. Darcy’s first proposal; the original scene, set in a small parlor, has been transferred outdoors, so the novel’s sense of claustrophobia is lost. In addition, the director and screenwriter do not allow the actors to convey the full emotional weight of their exchange. Instead they set the scene during a rainstorm, so the weather echoes the couple’s relationship—a scenario far more likely in a Brontë novel than an Austen one. Equally inexplicable is the decision to show Longbourn as unkempt, with pigs and chickens running into the kitchen. While this highlights the stark differences between the Bennets’ fortunes and Mr. Darcy’s, it ultimately weakens Elizabeth’s defense of her suitability to Lady Catherine: “He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman’s daughter.”

    The most egregious liberty taken, though, is the mischaracterization of the elder Bennets’ marriage. In the novel, it is manifestly clear that Mr. Bennet has long suffered in his union with a shallow-minded woman who cares for little else than gossip, fretting over her nerves, and plotting her daughters’ marriages. Their parents’ misery is the driving force behind both Jane’s and Elizabeth’s desire to marry for love; likewise, Mr. Bennet dreads the day his oldest daughters marry and leave him. By portraying the parents’ marriage as healthy and loving, the screenwriter and director have defanged the novel.

    The proverbial last straw for me was in the closing scenes, where Elizabeth giddily keeps repeating “Mrs. Darcy. Mrs. Darcy.” Elizabeth (or Lizzie, as she’s known to her loved ones) never does this in the book, neither does Austen ever refer to her as “Mrs. Darcy.” Darcy always refers to her by her first name only, a pointed choice on Austen’s part: Elizabeth’s individuality will not simply be subsumed on her wedding day.

    In other words, stick to the BBC version.

    ***

    That’s just the tip of the iceberg of complaints I have about Wright’s film version of P and P. I actually liked Atonement far better, but have not read the book; therefore, I don’t know how it works as an adaptation.

  64. Stark Raven’ Rad,

    I suppose you’re all aware that it was announced yesterday that Maisie will co-star in X-Men, New Mutants as rumoured and and that filming will begin in July. Congrats to our Maisie.

    Thanks for the info, and here’s hoping she’ll get more lines that Sophie Turner got in the last one.

    Come to think of it, did Sophie even speak in that movie? It’s hard to recall since it was totally forgettable.

  65. Pigeon,

    You might enjoy Hanna. It’s completely different from Atonement, quite entertaining as a tribute to girl power couched within a loving-father-who’s-actually-a-runaway-former-government-assassin-hiding-in-Finland narrative, and… there’s the exceedingly pleasurable bonus of looking at Eric Bana.

  66. Wolfish,

    Interesting critique of Pride & Prejudice (2005). I disagree, except for the unnecessarily tacked on closing scene (“Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy…”) which was wisely excised from the UK version.
    I read the book. I thought the screenplay did a good job of condensing it into a 1 1/2 – 2 hr. film. I also thought Keira Knightley was wonderful, especially her last scene with Judi Dench.

    As for “Atonement”: it was so awful my right foot started throbbing in pain. (That’s my personal barometer indicating a movie is really bad.)

  67. Ten Bears,

    I take no issue with condensation. Condensation is necessary in cinematic adaptation. Where I do take issue is with fundamentally changing meaning or character; this is, after all, why book readers take far greater issue with D&D’s treatment of Dorne than any other storyline in GoT. The treatment of the Bennet parents’ marriage was the worst for me because it fundamentally changed not only the relationship itself, but how its terrible emptiness shaped the oldest daughters’ dreams (Elizabeth would rather die “an old maid” than have a marriage like her parents’) and the father’s reluctance to see Lizzie marry Darcy unless he was firmly assured of her real love for him.

    It strikes me as deeply ironic that by defanging this particular element of the story, the director and screenwriter actually robbed Pride and Prejudice, a 200-year-old novel, of an empowering, feminist message.

  68. Ten Bears,

    (My last post on this, I promise!)

    I did think Knightley was well cast; she was delightful, and none of my many complaints about the film are about her.

  69. Catspaw Assassin:
    Stark Raven’ Rad,

    I suppose you’re all aware that it was announced yesterday that Maisie will co-star in X-Men, New Mutants as rumoured and and that filming will begin in July. Congrats to our Maisie.

    Thanks for the info, and here’s hoping she’ll get more lines that Sophie Turner got in the last one.

    Come to think of it, did Sophie even speak in that movie? It’s hard to recall since it was totally forgettable.

    *bites tongue until it bleeds*

    Famke Janssen is Jean Grey. That’s all I’m allowing myself to say on that one. ?

  70. Wolfish:
    Pigeon,

    You might enjoy Hanna. It’s completely different from Atonement, quite entertaining as a tribute to girl power couched within a loving-father-who’s-actually-a-runaway-former-government-assassin-hiding-in-Finland narrative, and… there’s the exceedingly pleasurable bonus of looking at Eric Bana.

    I might. It did sound like a good film, and yes, Eric Bana IS certainly a draw for me…. ?

  71. Genghis Khan,

    I think that was the obvious leap, taking into consideration height, eye colour, etc…Dany and Arya aren’t suddenly going to have a growth spurt. Just a guess though, and I hope not, as I don’t put much stock in those kind of announcements with no evidence of proof….Jaime may decide he’s tired of being a man and switch genders for all I know.

  72. Wimsey,

    “Some of the best movies ever made basically make people want to curl up in a ball and drink prosac smoothies for a week.”
    …………….
    1. These days, if I want to “curl up in bed and drink Prosac smoothies” I can watch an hour of the news. (Short version, in the words of Melisandre: “There is only one hell…and it’s the one we’re living in now.”)

    2. I agree that a well-made movie can leave me feeling despondent, and stick with me. “Vanilla Sky” (featuring Locke/Noah Taylor as “Tech Support”) and “Melancholia” come to mind. I just didn’t think “Atonement” was any good on any level. But that’s just my opinion.

  73. Pigeon,

    Famke Janssen is Jean Grey. That’s all I’m allowing myself to say on that one. ?

    I’m in total agreement with you about Famke being the one and only Jane Grey!

  74. ramses,

    ” a side note:
    It would go along with what GRRM and the show has set up. The one person whom embodies the hero Westoros needs is the same person we, the reader, think of initially as a villain..”
    ………………………….

    Who are we talking about ? Sandor?

  75. Ten Bears:
    Wimsey,

    I agree that a well-made movie can leave me feeling despondent, and stick with me. “Vanilla Sky” (featuring Locke/Noah Taylor as “Tech Support”) and “Melancholia” come to mind.

    For me, it was “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” and “Pan’s Labyrinth”. Felt absolutely gutted after those 2, and they were amazing movies.

  76. Mr Derp,

    ” Afterall, I’m still waiting to find out what major characters are on the flaming Bolton crosses, lol.”
    __________________

    ? Ha! I remember that! I was bracing myself for the sight of two corpses of “well-known” characters burning on the crosses; speculating that Ramsay would choose to set fire to two people whose immolation would demoralize the Stark army (and not just a couple of random guys); and was prepared to say goodbye to
    Davos, Tormund and/or Edd.
    And then it turned out to be …a couple of random guys.

  77. Pigeon,

    Didn’t see “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”, but did see “Pan’s Labyrinth.” Yes. I agree with you on that. So sad at the end. Sacrificed herself – and passed the test – to save her baby brother. The mixture of fantasy and harsh reality was mind-bending. Especially that weird root thing under the bed.

  78. dragonbringer,

    Here’s the thing. We have to believe that this guy, Rhaegar, the biggest mythical, mysterious character, was beautiful enough for Lyanna to run away with him, in an ven that would overthrow a kingdom.

    He has to be nothing like Viserys’ actor.

  79. Stark Raven’ Rad,

    About Maisie as Wolfsbane in “New Mutants”: As you noted, filming begins in July (2017). I read that the movie is scheduled to be released on April 13, 2018.

    I have to assume she will be done with filming for the movie before filming for S8 of GoT starts. I’d be interested in more details if anyone knows….

  80. Pigeon,

    Like i said it doesn’t excuse the type of post he did and it’s not the first time he acts so pretentious around here,others were able to do it in a more respectable way .

  81. Draymon: His description was pretty clear in the books, there’s nothing dreamy about him, the guy was melancholic to the point that even Barristan took notice of it, such a trait doesn’t make it possible for him to have any youthful effervescence.

    I have no doubt he was gentle and kind, but he was born at the same day that most of his family died, and he never forgot it.

    Nailed it. I think Ser Selmy even mentions how Rhaegar was a natural swordsman but preferred to play with books and poetry so that he could bang all the ladies of the realm. Paraphrasing, naturally, but we all know how pervy GM is, in the lines, and in between the lines.

  82. Mr Derp:
    Rygar,

    Well seeing as though Brandon Lee didn’t make it to 50, I have no idea how he’d look now.I was referring to the way he looked before he died.

    Ah, ok. Well if that’s the case, then I would prefer James Dean or Ricky Nelson.

  83. Wolfish: but have not read the book; therefore, I don’t know how it works as an adaptation.

    Quite well. The story is as suggested by the title: bitter-regret and what people do about it. The film did a really good job of capturing that. It is not a happy story: indeed, as the tale itself set as a story-within-a-story, it’s almost not possible for it to be one. But is no less powerful for being such an unhappy story.

  84. Ten Bears:
    Stark Raven’ Rad,

    About Maisie as Wolfsbane in “New Mutants”: As you noted, filming begins in July (2017).I read that the movie is scheduled to be released on April 13, 2018.

    I have to assume she will be done with filming for the movie before filming for S8 of GoT starts. I’d be interested in more details if anyone knows….

    I assume that as well, though the filming schedule might impact her ability to participate in various Season 7 premieres, comicons, promotion, etc. I would miss her.

    On a different note, I leafed through the Wall Street Journal this morning while at Starbucks. There’s a large story about wolves returning to the US west. It prominently features a she-wolf called 06 who led a pack into some part of Yellowstone National Park that hasn’t seen wolves since the 1920s. Could Nymeria really exist?

    To fellow Pan’s Labyrinth fans: I think the fact that the tree revived signaled that Ofelia’s alternate reality is also real. Last year I watched Guillermo del Toro’s commentary, and he put a positive spin on the end. Let’s hope there’s a lot more sweet than bitter (and less ambiguity) in the end for GoT as well and that 2018 will be A Time for all the Wolves.

    Pride and Prejudice has been good in every version I’ve seen, but the ’95 Colin Firth – Jennifer Ehle version seems pretty definitive. I always wonder how Catelyn Stark would have come across had Ehle been able to continue in the role (she was in the pilot).

  85. Stark Raven’ Rad: I always wonder how Catelyn Stark would have come across had Ehle been able to continue in the role (she was in the pilot).

    Probably very similar to what came across with Michele Fairley. After all, most of it is on the directors, and the show seemed determined to tone down Book!Catelyn’s shrewishness substantially.

  86. Pigeon,

    I hated the damn stupid bad omen brat in The Atonement! But this made me more interested in Saoirse and I have liked her in everything since then. She is different in Hanna, just give it a try!
    Did Sophie Turner play Jean Grey? Well, if I didn’t know her, the question would have been honest! No matter how beautiful, I hardly remember her as an X…woman. But I remember that, while watching the film, I thought that the directors guiding her in GOT were great. Famke Janssen is amazing and the only owner of the part!
    I chose not to watch The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas ’cause… stripped pajamas. About Pan’s Labyrinth, I somehow managed not to feel depressed believing that the fantastic world was the real one, and that the girl managed to leave hell to reach paradise… I know, silly me!

  87. Ten Bears,

    I like to think that the heroine was haunted by her cruel stupidity for her whole life… and this was the atonement. Vanessa Redgrave’s final monologue made me feel that.

  88. Wolfish,

    As a great admirer of Jane Austen and of the BBC 1995 Pride and Prejudice, I fully agree with your opinions regarding the film. But I’d like to add two things I liked about the film, besides Keira: dame Judi as lady Katherine de Bourgh and Charlotte’s monoloque, voicing her lack of options, which lead her to consider her marriage with Mr Collins as not the worst solution.

  89. Wimsey,

    I have wondered how charming Lizzie Bennett would become fierce Catelyn… not that she would not have been a fierce protector of any Darcy little ones! But as much as I enjoy seeing Jennifer Ehle, I’m glad I had the opportunity of admiring Michele Fairley. I hadn’t seen her before.

  90. Wimsey: the show seemed determined to tone down Book!Catelyn’s shrewishness substantially.

    You found her shrewish? Really? I found her very relatable, as a mother. Her coldness to Jon was over-the-top, perhaps; but I could see how his presence would feel like constantly having her nose rubbed in what she believed to be Ned’s infidelity. But for that, I mainly blame Ned for not confiding in her.

  91. Shy Lady Dragon: I like to think that the heroine was haunted by her cruel stupidity for her whole life… and this was the atonement. Vanessa Redgrave’s final monologue made me feel that.

    Indeed! And that was the tragedy: she was haunted her entire life by something that she did as a teenager. Yes, it was cruel and selfish, but teenagers often are.

    What worked so well about the story for me was the story-within-a-story. If you cannot change the past, then you can imagine what the past would be like if only your mistakes either had not been made or had somehow been unmade. We all have something like that in our life, even if it is nowhere near so extreme.

  92. Firannion: You found her shrewish? Really?

    She nagged Ned fiercely to take Robert’s offer, and she emphasized that it would hugely improve the marriage offers that they would get for Arya and probably improve Rickon’s opportunities. My suspicion is that had we watched her nagging Ned to take a position, then it would have taken the audience a long time to forgive her. (Audiences seem to be much slower to forgive female characters for early stumbles than they are to forgive male characters: one only has to look at all the crap that SoI&F fans write about Daenerys to see that.)

    As for Ned not confiding to her about Jon, I don’t see how he could have. One, he didn’t know her. Two, once he did get to know her, then he might well have concluded that Catelyn would never have tolerated Lyanna’s bastard. Remember, there is a huge double standard here. Ned did what all well-born men do (even if most of them do not feel honor-bound to rub their wives’ noses in it), but well-born women do not do that. In this world, it would be assumed that if Lyanna did it, then Sansa & Arya would. Moreover, given how obsessed she was with her children’s futures, there is no way that she would have endangered their futures by harboring someone who could be used as a Targaryen heir: Ned basically was committing treason by doing this, and he stood to be attainted if it were known. That would have hugely affected her children’s prospects!

  93. Stark Raven’ Rad:

    To fellow Pan’s Labyrinth fans: I think the fact that the tree revived signaled that Ofelia’s alternate reality is also real.Last year I watched Guillermo del Toro’s commentary, and he put a positive spin on the end. Let’s hope there’s a lot more sweet than bitter(and less ambiguity) in the end for GoT as well and that 2018 will be A Time for all the Wolves.

    Shy Lady Dragon:
    Pigeon,

    About Pan’s Labyrinth, I somehow managed not to feel depressed believing that the fantastic world was the real one, and that the girl managed to leave hell to reach paradise… I know, silly me!

    Yes, the fantasy part of Ofelia’s world had to have been in some ways ‘real’ or manifested…the chalk door that she drew to escape her stepfather’s room is one that really stood out to me, for example.

    My doctor was a little girl in Spain during that time period, and that movie really affected her with some of the war aspects.

  94. Shy Lady Dragon,

    I saw the version of “East of Eden” starring James Dean not too long ago and he was good in that – I was sorry the people adapting the book had cut out the first half of the story and the character of Li, the Chinese man, though if a person didn’t know the book I suppose it would have been less jarring. I have sometimes wondered if the legend surrounding James Dean grew up because he died so young, though as I say in the few films of his I have watched (well he didn’t make that many films as he died so young) he did acquit himself well.

    Been racking my brains to think of a plausible Rhaegar from contemporary young or youngish actors. (Though if there was a Rhaegar cameo I guess he was already cast last year!). Bradley James (King Arthur in “Merlin”) might suit or if they went the stick a wig on him route maybe Alexander Vlahos (grown up Mordred in “Merlin”). I think they are most likely to go with someone relatively unknown though. Whoever they choose (if indeed Rhaegar is featured in flashback) there will be somebody or bodies who don’t like the selection.

    This paragraph isn’t particularly aimed at you, Shy Lady, but regarding the Vanessa Redgrave rumour, I’ll take it with a grain of salt for now – I remember somebody commenting that Katie McGrath was definitely going to play Lyanna! I like Katie but she was working in Canada at the time she would have had to strut her stuff as Lyanna!

    Rygar:
    Shy Lady Dragon,

    Hear hear.Although Ricky Nelson does have the dark eyebrows suitable for D&D’s Targaryens.

    Oh Rygar, you are awful but I like you.*

    *That’s not original – there was a comedian, no longer with us, (I always thought he was British but Wikipedia tells me he was Australian) called Dick Bentley – he was one of those comedians who played a multitude of characters and one of his personnages was a rather blowsy female who had a catch-phrase “Oh you are awful, but I like you”.

  95. Dame of Mercia,

    I’m sure the James Dean myth has grown because of his untimely death, but I found him fascinating both in East of Eden and Rebel without a Cause. One might think I liked him so much because I was a romantic teenager myself at the time, but rewatching these films as an adult didn’t change my opinion. I guess being romantic is not so easy to get rid of, no matter how cynical one tries to become 🙂
    And about Vanessa Redgrave, I’m skeptical.
    I rather like an unknown actor to play Rhaegar, it worked so well for Lyanna. I had watched The Fall, but I didn’t recognize the actress.

  96. He reminds me a lot of Travis Fimmel as Ragnar. I was looking forward to watching KA Legend of the sword until I read it’s directed by Ritchie. Not a fan of his film making style.

  97. Ten Bears,

    Agree, hated that movie. Was crushing on what’s his name at the time it came out and also liked Keira so was excited for it but the movie left me feeling uneasy and depressed.

  98. Shy Lady Dragon,

    Agreed about Dame Judi, who can do no wrong! To be honest, though, I don’t remember Charlotte’s monologue from the film, only from the book and miniseries.

  99. Wolfish,

    I can’t quote it, but it was different from the one in the book, where Charlotte seemed at peace with her fate. This time she sounded harsh, desperate, without trying to hide a bit of envy for Lizzie’s qualities. IIRC the ending was “Don’t you dare judge me!”

  100. Shy Lady Dragon,

    It sounds like yet another thing I might have been peeved about at the time and probably forgot among my long list of problems with the film. As I told our ursine friend, I take no issue with condensation, but do take issue with fundamentally changing characters and their motivations. The scenario you describe sounds much more like something out of a Brontë novel than an Austen one, which was my complaint about Darcy’s first, failed proposal being relocated from a parlor to a rainstorm. Turning Darcy and Elizabeth into Heathcliff-and-Cathy-Lite for that scene was a slap to Austen and the way she wrote the tightly-contained fury of her characters. Changing Charlotte Lucas from a levelheaded, pragmatic woman who was never a romantic (and openly admitted that fact) into a “harsh, desperate” character worried about Lizzie’s judgment is, likewise, an insult to Austen.

  101. Wolfish,

    I didn’t see it as an insult to Austen. I wouldn’t allow anyone to insult my Austen! Maybe I’m falsely romanticizing it, but we never see things from Charlotte’s pov. Yes, she stated that she had never been romantic, but maybe she had educated herself not to be, choosing to behave pragmatically and forcing herself to be like that. In an age when beauty and fortune were generally accepted as (the only) qualities to be sought in a wife, she had none. Furthermore, she was intelligent, which means she couldn’t be silly and cheerful like the younger Bennett girls, something some men could appreciate – even Mr Bennett, as a young man, had the bad idea of marrying a woman who must have been like Lydia. And maybe, facing her imminent “wise” choice of marrying Collins, Charlotte doubted her life values and let another Charlotte to appear, even if only for several minutes, the other self she had denied her whole life. Then the usual Charlotte took control again. I thought this view might give depth to the character.

  102. Shy Lady Dragon,

    We’ll have to agree to disagree, as I had to do with Ten Bears. 🙂

    I don’t see the point of trying to “add” to an already full characterization by one of the most esteemed English-language novelists in history. I took Charlotte at face value, as she was written. If Austen had wanted to add any more depth to Ms. Lucas, she would have done so.

  103. Wolfish: I’ll just post a response I made to a friend who hadn’t read the novel, and didn’t understand why book readers vastly prefer the 1995 BBC miniseries. (Obviously, I don’t know if you’ve read it or not.) Here it is…

    *round of applause*

  104. DARN IT I was/am rooting for him so baaaad! I tweeted GRRM about it, too!

    He can totally do melancholy what are you guys talking about??

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