New photos include first look at Daario and Missandei

WOW!!!! THAT’S SO COOL!!!!!!! LOOK AT HIS COSTUME!!!!!! AAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!GEEKGASM

Without wanting to sound overly optimistic, they look really good. I love, love Dany’s braids and Daario, I foresee new eyecandy :))

I’m happy with his look!

I hate this Daario.
He doesn’t look a bit like GRRM’s Daarion and all i wanna do when i look at him is slap the dude in the face.
WTF Nina Gold?! Who cast him??

Not too sure about Daario’s armor. Looks mighty WoW-like to me. Can you say Blood Elf Paladin?

Ilia Stark,

You’re basing his acting how he looks? Nina Gold knows what she is doing.

Fire And Blood,

You’re right… not wanting to slap Daario is the sign of the wrong actor for Daario, ahaha. Also we have Iwan Rheon this season for sexy actor… although as he’s playing Ramsay my feelings might get a little confusing.

Mmmmh… so they filmed “Dracarys” at Ouarzazatte… I was thinking all of Astapor was one at Essaouira…

Means Ouarzazatte will stand in for both Astapor and Yunkai… at least imo.

I like Daario. His outfit looks like it would do a pretty good job of protecting him in an actual fight, but also like he spent like 10 times as much as he had to for that so that it would look totally badass (thus the slight WoW air to it). Pretty in-character for him, I’d say. And his facial expression says “slap me,” which is also good.

Ilia Stark,

Considering the irritation of the book character and the way he makes your skin crawl, I think he is perfectly cast. I wanna slap both!

KG,

Oh yeah, no one will beat Jaqen, but he’s still nice to look at! ;)

I’m wondering if he’s still going to have the forked beard attached? Probably not likely… Still…he oozes Daario, in my opinion.

So they’ve seemingly lost the blue hair, gold teeth, and naked women on the hilts of his swords.

He still kinda looks like I’d like to slap him. Just add in his grating personality and Dany’s adolescent infatuation for the guy and I can see despising him as much as I do his book counterpart.

I think that’s the reaction GRRM is trying for in the first place, amongst those of us who aren’t 15 year old girls, so good work, Nina!

Saddened and annoyed that I didn’t get an opportunity to audition for Daario, because I was white, when the guy who got cast looks whiter than me!

Ivan:
So they’ve seemingly lost the…naked women on the hilts of his swords.

Er, what do you think he’s clutching there?

there’s really no reason he shouldn’t have those skeevy daggers. let’s hope they’re off being corralled by the weapons master on set. bc how ELSE is going to come off as the grosses, skeeviest dude? rub those daggers Daario. RUB ‘EM.

I think that in the first picture he holds his dagger/sword in his left hand.

Jamie Michie is playing Steelshanks: http://www.debiallenassociates.com/clients_detail.asp?id=261

Ed Skrein looks like he has plenty of Daario swagger. And he’s just standing there.

But but but…Daario looks….ALRIGH! Talk about a shocker, ey?
Can’t say I didn’t expect them to tone down his wacky appearance from the books, but this still came as a surprise.

this is not the Daario I imagined. But I am sure the acting and writing will make up for it

I hope that’s just a photo that caught Iain Glen on a bad day, but doesn’t he look like he aged 15 years? Have there been any other recent photos of him that are close ups?

OH SWEET GODS, THAT DAARIO’S ARMOUR!
I’m pretty happy HBO didn’t used the clown look from the books and the golden tooth. It was kind of ridiculous. Also, this t-shirt: http://tumblrofthrones.tumblr.com/post/32428861286/do-you-like-my-new-t-shirt

I am pretty resistant to Westeros/Wall changes but when it comes to the Martells, Greyjoys, and Dany in Essos as of ASOS, they can pretty much change whatever the hell they want as far as I am concerned (I say now… :) ). Hypocritical? Perhaps. But Daario in the books was just the worst, and not in a good way, so I feel like almost anything they could do would be an improvement.

I’m happily surprised with Daario’s look. Delighted they’ve done away with the silly blue beard/hair. Hopefuly the gold tooth is gone too. I knew they were going to tone him down, but was very curious what his final appearance would be like . And I have to admit they’ve done a fantastic job. He looks 100% Daario and one I can certainly believe Dany falling for.

There is and always will be only one Jaqen! ;)

Those shoulder pads are sooo 90′s

Loving the costumes. I can live without the blue hair. Don’t see why people think they cut the golden tooth when the guy has his mouth closed.

In the Unsullied head closeup pic you can see Whitebeard in what looks to be a badass getup.

Amsterpaul:
this is not the Daario I imagined. But I am sure the acting and writing will make up for it

I am in full agreement. To add, I care less about ” eye candy ” hype, my hopes are
to envision or match that person to the chosen character. Season 3 will reveal
that.

Winter Is Coming:
What a leak. I imagine this guy is going to get in some trouble… (although, I wouldn’t want to be the one that has to tell him off!)

Daario looks great, IMO. I knew he wouldn’t have the blue hair, forked beard and gold teeth. But his armor is fantastical enough that you still get a sense that he thinks he is the shit. Missandei looks nice, as well.

So THAT scene was shot in a plaza, as people in our last thread speculated. Which means the other set photo must have been from the siege of Yunkai.

Photo 3 & 4 demonstrate a Unsullied costume with a leather sternal collar originating
from the neck , and ending in a loop or open gap as if to insert something. Any idea
what that might be ? Who is that guy anyway, and what is he whispering in
Khaleesi’s ear ( different photo ) ?

The Unsullied uniform included helmets with spikes , the length signifying
individual rank among peers or leadership role. Have you discerned any
differences thus far, from these and the last batch of photos. Perhaps it’s a
unwarranted detail ?

Bannerless Bro,

Thanks Rachel for trying to stick up for me. And thanks Bannerless Bro for liking the shirt.

As for this version of Daario, I think I’ve grown so attached to book Daario now that we’ve decided not to hate him that I will miss the ridiculous look, but alas I knew it wouldn’t happen. Still holding out for the daggers and count me in as someone who prefers the look without the wig.

Mrs. H’ghar,

Glad you are ok after Sandy, Mrs. H….:)

WOW you beat me to that!!!

Maxwell James:
He looks like the frontman for a Poison cover band. Oh well, I guess wig choices have not been a strength for this production from the get-go. And a book-faithful Daario would have been even worse.

Otoh, the Unsullied look great. Different from the book, but great.

I am very much digging the fact that this guy is named Rickard.

Also, anyone else think it’s a little odd that an extra has so many shots with main cast? Especially since his variety of outfits seems to indicate he took many photos with the same people over a wide period of time? Basically I’m wondering if he’ll be a glorified extra.

This is a lot of speculation, and possibly pointless, but…

Since they aged up Missandei and chose a young pretty Grey Worm, I’ve just assumed they tweaked the story to make them siblings and get some replacements for Dany’s retinue/clique of young, attractive, and death-prone attendants. If that’s the case, perhaps they also tweaked things to cast a glorified extra as the older, more veteran guy the Unsullied would choose as a captain. He could still be a much lesser character who doesn’t pop up much, while the younger Grey Worm, not in command, is around for more screen time as one of Barristan’s knights in training/Queensguard.

(PS. Speaking of Sandy, I’ve been stranded away from home on account of that bastard hurricane, and as a result I’ve been doing everything on my phone. Spoilers are super annoying to deal with, particularly to read, in mobile mode. But consider this criticism very minor, as WiC has been a most appreciated time-killer and sanity-saver…or, at least…sanity-readjuster?)

Wow. I can’t believe how much more attractive Ed Skrein looks with a wig.

I guess that’s the by-product of growing up in a decade when the only young guys who shaved their heads were neo-Nazi skinheads.

Ours is the Fury,

I agree that dying Sansa’s hair brown would look more natural on screen than Daario’s ridiculous blue hair. The problem is that the existence of hair dye within the tv universe has not been established, so it would seem as if it came out of nowhere when Sansa dyes her hair. Also, even though it isn’t for another few seasons, I really hope that they do something with Griff and Young Griff’s hair, instead of just introducing them with red and white-blond hair respectively.

Ser Tahu,

Is hair dye something that needs an introduction? Or rather, why would a TV viewer assume it didn’t exist in the fictional world? They clearly have clothing dye…

Jacarb,

He might be training the Unsullied extras. Why would they fly in a Swedish guy to be an extra?

sunspear:
Ser Tahu,

Apparently people really like the guy. He’s like last years equivalent of Jojen and Meera. I don’t get the fan love, but what have you.

Who’s left to taste the honeyed spicy locust ? I could hear the crunch when he
tasted them :D

Yoosteen Bose,

Because a blue beard on TV would look retarded – like they cast the creepy too-old-to-be-here guy who hangs out at Hot Topic.

Carne,

Because he’s a kickboxer and looks mean? I mean, I have the same question as you. He seems too important to be an extra in Unsullied armor. Even if they just decided to dress up the trainer, why not focus in on his superior ass-kickboxery?

sunspear,

None of those named attended the event with Danerys and her…entourage. Missandei
would definitely be needed for interaction with BS ( at the pyramid ) much later. Still,
the scene is not essential, like Belwas, the details where there to help the reader.

I’m just in the mood to eat a spicy popcorn snack, I guess it shows:D

I can’t believe how many people want blue hair on Daario. I wish they had let Ed Skrein keep his shaved head. That wig makes him look Fabio-esque.

I just love Emilia. <3

Alan:
I can’t believe how many people want blue hair on Daario.I wish they had let Ed Skrein keep his shaved head.That wig makes him look Fabio-esque.

I think “Fabio” is actually the right look for him. He’s meant to be an arrogant, vain twat who is obviously obsessed with his appearance. Very very buff, but a bit of a poodle nonetheless.

Agree 100% that the imagery of the blue hair works in the book, but might not translate to screen. The important thing is what the hair says about his character (i.e. the Fabio-esque self-obsession with his flamboyant image).

Maybe some bling would be a good addition, a gold tooth even, but overall I’m cautiously optimistic.

Is it just me.. or did anyone else notice that in the first picture if you put a man’s head on missendei’s body she could easily pass for one of the Spartan warriors in 300?

What also works about this version of Daario is that he looks younger than bearded OriginalRecipe! Daario

Nordstrand wrote (in Swedish) on Twitter, in response to someone asking what he was doing in GOT, that he was doing Dany’s (!) stunts and riding and fighting all day.

Hi everyone by the way! I’ve been coming to the sight for about a year now but this is my first post :)

Armor always looks cheesy without post production. I’m sure it’s gonna look great!
Since he doesn’t wear any weapons I assume he simply hasn’t donned his weapon belt.

M,

EXACTLY my thoughts! :D

Empress,

Your avatar seems kind of “Surly”? Am I right?

I think it’s stupid that they are running away from the DIVERSITY from the World.
Oh so everyone is european looking now ?
This sucks.
Why create exotic cultures if you aren’t going to portray them faithfully?
What’s the big deal about a colorful beard ?

It’s silly man. Makes absolutely no sense.
The point of STRANGERS being Different is exactly that.
If everyone looks the same why bother writing exotic cultures ?

Alan,

I feel that at least having a bit of blue would be the best option because it goes beyond Daario. It would have been a good indicator of his culture. His appearance is heavily based on how he grew up. He may have pushed it farther then most Tyroshi but the colors indicate where he’s from. Since he is extremely white in these photos I’m afraid his ethnicity may be lost over time.

Does anyone else think Daario looks like he just came from Rohan? Not how I pictured him but since I really don’t like the guy (or Dany’s school girl reaction to him) I guess it’s fine. I don’t expect that he’ll survive the end of the next book anyway, he’s just sort of there to give Dany something to do until she gets back to Westeros.

Mrs. H’ghar:
Well, a woman has made it thru the storm, with power & iPhone but no web, tv, home phone so it’s harder to read & type till full service returns. Still, seeing my beloved mentioned has spurred me to chime in, and Daario cannot hold a candle to Jaqen imo. Attractive he is, but in his own way as we all are unique and beautiful in our own ways. A woman looks forward to seeing the swagger in action.

Mrs. H’ghar,

Glad you are ok too. I remember you posted this really cute post about Daario a few months ago when they first revealed that Ed S. would be playing him. You said something like he reminded you of the hot-looking guy down the street who drove the big, fast car, but when he finally invited you to dinner, in a city full of great restaurants, he ended up taking you to an IHOP, Burger King (something like that – can’t remember exactly which fast food place it was). I thought she has to be talking about the great restaurants of either New York or San Francisco. So sorry about what “Sandy” did to NY and NJ. Daario looks ok – better without the wig – but he’s no Jaqen. Daario reminds me of the type of guy who would be checking himself out in the mirror while he was supposed to be kissing and caressing you – while Jaqen would be doing this – pls see below. Take care.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcirw3SIoA1rw2u1eo1_1280.jpg

Danielle:
Does anyone else think Daario looks like he just came from Rohan?

Right. He looks like Eomer, son of Eomund.

Ilia Stark,

Wait, you mean you didn’t want to slap book Daario?

Germán Lugo,

Bye!

That looks nothing like Daario at all :-(

Joshua Taylor:
Empress,

Your avatar seems kind of “Surly”? Am I right?

It might be a ” strange building “.

Ser Tahu:
Ser Tahu,

P.S why is everyone always going on about the lack of Belwas? The only way he has ever contributed to the plot was when he fought that guy at the siege of Yunkai. He could easily be cut from the show.

I agree – I actually hope they give that fight to Arstan instead. In the books we don’t actually see Barristan engage in any combat until much later on in ADWD, though we have many more stories of his ability. In the show, it might be nice to SEE his combat prowess instead of just hearing occasional tales about it.

They’ve messed up the casting of Daario and Grey Worm the actors need to swap roles.

For all you super nerds who are gonna cry over the lack of blue hair. Give it a rest. He looks fine. I dont think the blue hair would translate well on screen and it would make him look like less of a badass. Peoples perceptions of characters are largely based off looks so they are doing a fine job. Missandei looks perfect for that role. Oh wait, was she supposed to have poofy hair? Uh oh!

Joshua Taylor:
Empress,

Your avatar seems kind of “Surly”? Am I right?

I’d say ‘resolutely’. :D
And for the ‘strange building’… I have absolutely no idea, why my Mass Effect avatar is shown here. oO Samara has really nothing to do with GOT.

I hated book Daario because he thinks he is the shit with his good looks, and the TV Daario actually makes me feel the same, he seems to be a douchebag just because of his looks.

Nice casting.

Tereeza777: Mrs. H’ghar,

Glad you are ok too.I remember you posted this really cute post about Daario a few months ago when they first revealed that Ed S. would be playing him.You said something like he reminded you of the hot-looking guy down the street who drove the big, fast car, but when he finally invited you to dinner,in a city full of great restaurants, he ended up taking you toan IHOP, Burger King (something like that – can’t remember exactly which fast food place it was). I thought she has to be talking aboutthe great restaurants of either New York or San Francisco. So sorry about what “Sandy” did to NY and NJ.Daario looks ok – better without the wig – but he’s no Jaqen. Daario reminds me of the type of guy who would be checking himself out in the mirror while he was supposed to be kissing and caressing you–while Jaqen would be doing this–pls see below.Take care.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcirw3SIoA1rw2u1eo1_1280.jpg

Thank you for your kinds words m’Lady Tereeza. Yes, a woman recalls that post and story in previous threads about casting. It will be fun to see if our new Daario meets our expectations. We had electricity, but just got web, tv, & home phone back today. Reading the web via iPhone is tedious, but could have been much worse. We feel for our neighbors who lost so much, and most of all for loss of life. It will be a long slog back to normalcy for this area it appears.

Clare Dugmore,

He’s definitely eye candy, and as the other commenters noted, looks smugly d-baggy for the part. But I do wish they’d be bolder with the Tyroshi. I love Greenbeard, and this whole thing of dying the beard — now that we have facial tattoos commonplace in the real world I can see it happening! So they could be bolder IMO, like making his whole outfit yellow and and gold like in the books. I also imagined him Turkish / Greek looking, with the mentions of his handsome hawklike nose and heavy brows — racially this one is a bit white…. but they’ve been spot on in attitude for casting so I’m game.

My other favorite costume thing in the books is that the high Septons wear pope hats made of crystal prisms, so when they move the light shoots rainbows from their hats. Now THAT I want to see.

So one of the few chances they have to cast a brown skinned person and they cast this girl Nathalie? Really? She’s lighter than Daenerys after living with the Dothraki for a few months. As a actual brown skinned woman with molten gold (hazel) eyes, I am offended. Seriously.

Clare Dugmore,

he needs to have blue hair, it’s not a complaint it’s what he IS!! It’s a physical description that needs to stay true. It’s fine they changed a bunch of stuff, by why on earth not give Daario blue hair? He’s representing the Stormcrows and he’s Tyroshi… it’s annoying that they could not figure out how to make that happen. bleh!