(Featured image from Getty / Kevin Winter)
The next “Game of Thrones” season will spend a lot more time in the kingdom of Dorne, where the late Prince Oberyn (Pedro Pascal) was from. A lot of the storyline will revolve around the fallout from his death, including the reactions of his older, calmer brother Doran and his significantly less calm and far more aggressive daughters, known as The Sand Snakes. Hence, with so many new characters, it could only mean one thing – a new cast.
HBO made the official announcement at the 2014 San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) panel, alongside a YouTube video featuring the new cast talking about joining the show. Now that the massive “Game of Thrones” cat is finally out of the bag, fans can only expect greater things to come in the upcoming S5.
But before that, here’s a quick breakdown of the newly cast “Game of Thrones” actors/actresses:
Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig)
Alexander Siddig is most remembered for his role as Dr. Bashir in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”. As the head of house Martell, Prince Doran faces a huge amount of pressure to respond to the death of his brother, Oberyn. He’s crazy into blood oranges and is afflicted with a severe case of gout, making it extremely painful for him to move. And as much as Oberyn became a fan favorite in S4, Doran isn’t quite as electric. Siddig does lend some gravitas to the role, which will no doubt be pivotal as Dorne considers how best to respond for the Lannisters’ killing machine not only confessing to killing Elia at the end of S4, but also killing their prince. He seems like a solid choice.
Trystane Martell (Toby Sebastian)
In an effort to forge an alliance with Dorne and save King’s Landing from various threats coming from other pretenders to the Iron Throne, Tyrion Lannister then Hand of the King shipped off Princess Myrcella to be betrothed to Trystane, Doran Martell’s son and heir to the seat of power of Dorne. However, unlike most other young royalty in “Game of Thrones”, he comes off as somewhat of a gentleman. Trystane is only 13 in the books, so it looks like HBO has decided to age up the character, similar to what they did with the Starks and Lannisters.
High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce)
New characters will also be making an appearance outside of Dorne and back in King’s Landing, the pious High Sparrow arrives in the capital stirring up the poor to the chagrin of Cersei Lannister. After all, with Tywin, Tyrion and presumably Varys all out of King’s Landing at the end of S4, why would anyone allow Cersei to be left to run completely wild? Hence, she’ll run up against a character called the High Sparrow. He’s the religious leader of King’s Landing who comes along in a time when the city is scared and poor, providing an excellent foe for Cersei and her less than moral ways.
Myrcella Baratheon (Nell Tiger Free)
It’s worth noting that Myrcella Baratheon’s role has been recast, in light of the added depth of her character. If you recall, Princess Myrcella was sent to Dorne in S2, against Cersei’s wishes, to keep the peace between Dorne and King’s Landing. But that doesn’t mean that it was the last of her! Cersei’s little princess is not so little anymore and will be having more screen time when events move towards Dorne where she was shipped off.
Areo Hotah (DeObia Oparei)
Princess Myrcella’s presence in Dorne was always going to be a security issue and the inevitable appearance of Palace Guard Captain Hotah has been expected by fans of the books and the series. The former “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor will once again be able to showcase his fighting skills in S5 of the series no doubt. Something tells us that he’s going to be as devoted and badass as required to be a Lannister’s personal bodyguard.
Obara Sand (Keisha Castle-Hughes)
The well-loved character of Oberyn Sand spoke about his Sand Snakes or his eight daughters while speaking to Cersei about her own daughter Myrcella while they were in the gardens of the Red Keep. As the eldest of the Red Viper’s bastard daughters, Obara is as fierce a warrior as exists in or out of Westeros. Angry, strong, and hungry for payback, Obara and her half-sisters are a force to be reckoned with.
Nymeria (“Nym”) Sand (Jessica Yu Li Henwick)
The middle child of the sand snakes, Nymeria is beautiful, deadly and, like her sisters, very angry.
Tyene Sand (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers)
Another bastard daughter of the Red Viper, think of Tyene as the sweet one – or sweet for a Martell, at least. She shares her father’s love for poison, which makes her a threat to all of her enemies.
Yezzan (Enzo Cilenti)
Meanwhile in Essos, Daenerys also has her own problems to deal with. She is still struggling to rule her conquered cities and attempting to maintain the order and keep her citizens satisfied after she outlawed the slave trade. Enter former slaver Yezzan’s appearance in S5 to spice up the Khaleesi’s story line. Now the wealthiest slave owner in Yunkai, Yezzan zo Qaggaz’s city was defeated by Daenerys Targaryen and her army of unsullied. We’re guessing he’s not too happy about it. Enzo Cilenti was most recently in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy”.
As a bonus, check out the full video of the “Game of Thrones” 2014 San Diego Comic Con panel:
Excited yet? We know we are! Because now that the above has been revealed, S5 looks like it could very well turn out to be the best season in the multiple award-nominated and multiple award-winning “Game of Thrones” fans have ever seen!
The show is scheduled to start filming in October this year and will premiere in 2015. We know you can’t hardly wait so meanwhile, here are some things to keep you occupied, hopefully until next year.
