2016 is Coming: 15 films with Game of Thrones actors arriving in the new year

Photo: 20th Century Fox

For many Game of Thrones fans, it can be hard to see, say, Lena Headey in a movie and not expect her to break out the Cersei-isms, or disassociate a performance by Kit Harington from the part of Jon Snow. We spend a lot of time with these characters, and it’s sometimes strange to see the actors out of context.

At the same time, Game of Thrones has given a shot in the arm to many of those actors’ careers, so they’re appearing in high-profile projects more than ever. With the end of 2015 in sight, it seems like a good time to take stock and forecast where you’ll be able to see some of your favorite Game of Thrones cast members up on the big screen during 2016, whether before, during, or after Season 6 has aired.

1. Natalie Dormer as Sara and Jess in The Forest

Release date: January 8, 2016

Natalie Dormer will kick the year off with this horror-thriller about an American woman named Sara (Dormer) who travels to Japan to find her missing twin sister (also Dormer). The sister, Jess, disappeared after heading into Aokigahara Forest, an actual forest at the base of Mt. Fugi noted for the large number of people who commit suicide there. Why Jess would want to travel there in the first place, I have no idea. It seems like a bad idea, and now Sara has to follow in her footsteps. And then there are monsters.

2. Lena Headey as Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Release date: February 5, 2016

Lena Headey has said before that she has a fondness for dark, weird roles, and this one definitely qualifies. As the aunt to famed literary leading man Fitzwilliam (Mr.) Darcy, Lady de Bourgh is upright, proper, and very observant of the strict rules of society. In this version of Jane Austen’s classic novel, she also kills zombies.

The role will allow Headey to deploy the haughtiness we know so well from Game of Thrones, and maybe give us a sneak peak of what might happen if Cersei ever encounters a wight. Headey turns up toward the end of the trailer, at 2:21.

Also, the movie will reunite Headey with Charles Dance, her TV father. He’ll star Mr. Bennet, father to protagonist Elizabeth Bennet.

3. Aiden Gillen as Goosefat Bill in Guy Ritchie’s Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur

Release date: February 17, 2016

Gillen will keep things medieval with this role alongside Pacific Rim star Charlie Hunnam, who will play King Arthur. As you might have guessed by the presence of a colon in the title, this is the first of several films in a planned series (of six), since nothing stands alone in Hollywood anymore. Assuming his character survives the first movie, Gillen could live off this series for years.

4. Carice Van Houten as Leni Riefenstahl in Race

Release date: February 19, 2016

Race is about American athlete Jesse Owens winning a record-breaking four medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Seeing as Adolf Hitler was in power at the time, that probably stuck in his craw, since he was trying to sell people on the idea that Aryans were a superior race.

Van Houten will play famous German filmmaker and Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl. Riefenstahl is a charismatic, interesting figure in film history. With her powerful screen presence, Van Houten should be able to do good things with the role.

5. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Horus in Gods of Egypt

Release date: February 26

Gods of Egypt is a movie about Egyptian mythology if Egyptian mythology involved a lot more special effects. It weathered some controversy earlier this year when outlets pointed out that all the lead actors, from Coster-Waldau to costars Gerard Butler and Geoffrey Rush, were white, despite the ethnic makeup of the country not allowing for that. On top of that, the movie just looks…rather lame, with the shiny explosions and ponderous dialogue. Maybe it’ll surprise me, and hopefully Coster-Waldau at least got a nice check for it.

Also, I love the giant scarabs in the background around 1:28 in the trailer. Do the Egyptians ride them like horses? That’d be cute.

6. Emilia Clarke as Louisa Clark in Me Before You.

Release date: March 4, 2016

An adaptation of the novel of the same name, Me Before You tells the story of a romance between Louisa, a working class 20-something, and Will Traynor, a wealthy quadriplegic Louisa is paid to look after. It’s certainly a change from Clarke’s action-heavy turn in Terminator Genisys. Let’s hope this one won’t be as critically reviled.

Also, Clarke will be starring alongside Charles Dance as Will’s father. Dance will be popping up all over the place in 2016. In addition to starring alongside Clarke here and Headey in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, he’ll also play Thomas the Vampire Elder in Underworld: Next Generation, due out in October of 2016. He played the same role in 2012’s Underworld: Awakening.

7. Sean Bean in The Young Messiah

Release date: March 11, 2016

The Young Messiah is a biblical epic about the life of a young Jesus. Bean plays Severus, a Roman soldier sent to track Him down. I’m not sure if this story appears in the Bible, but it’ll be on movie screens come Easter. Also, David “Walder Frey” Bradley will play a rabbi.

8. Jason Momoa as Aquaman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Release date: March 25, 2016

Khal Drogo hasn’t been on our TV screens for a while, but Jason Momoa will return to the forefront of the entertainment business in a big way when he plays Aquaman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Yes, Momoa has been given the holy grail of Hollywood acting: he’s been cast as a superhero, which is how actors make the big bucks nowadays.

It’s not clear what role he’ll play in Batman v Superman—it’s possible he’ll just have a glorified cameo so people will know who he is when Aquaman, his solo project, comes around in 2018. We’re sure that he’ll make an intimidating King of the Seas.

Next: Read on to see what movies come out after Season 6 begins