More casting new from the Game of Thrones front has been revealed today via Comic Book Movie. We’d already heard of Pedro Pascal joining up to play Prince Oberyn Martell (The Red Viper), as well as Mark Gatiss being cast in a still unknown role, but luckily there’s no mystery involved today.
Indira Varma becomes the latest addition to the cast and will be playing the role of Ellaria Sand, Prince Oberyn’s lover. Varma may not be a well-known actress, but most will recognize her from the critically-acclaimed television shows Rome and Luther.
I’ve mentioned before that I recently finished reading the George R.R. Martin novel that seasons three and four are based on, and quite frankly, I don’t remember her character saying much, if anything. Perhaps the showrunners have taken it upon themselves to give her a larger role, or perhaps she simply becomes more important later on given the events that transpire in the latter half of the book.
We’ve already heard a bit from David Benioff, one of the showrunners, regarding his thoughts on the upcoming season. Just in case you missed it, here’s a quick recap:
“It’s the toughest production schedule we’ve ever had. We got more action, which is obviously more time consuming. It’s a brutal shooting season ahead. But if we can make it through, yeah, I think it’s going to surpass season three. The last 3 episodes, there’s so many scenes we’ve been waiting for so long to do. And it just gets more and more fun to write for these characters. After three years of doing it, we have that much more comfort to make everything uncomfortable for them. We’re very excited for it. Season five gives me nightmares, but [not season four].”
It’s great to hear that they’re as excited for it as the fans must be. I certainly can’t wait to see how they’re going to pull off all the craziness that ensues, which, as you can probably guess, involves an incredibly epic battle.
The currently-shooting season four of Game of Thrones is expected to begin airing in late March/early April of next year. It may be several months away, but you can be sure it will be worth the wait.
