Celeb roundup: Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell) lands lead in Marvel’s Iron Fist, and more
By Dan Selcke
The cast members of Game of Thrones have been busy lately. Let’s look at the biggest bit of news first: Finn Jones, best known to Thrones fans as Loras Tyrell, has been cast as the title character in Iron Fist, a Marvel show that will air on Netflix, according to TVLine.
Netflix is already home to two Marvel series: Daredevil and Jessica Jones, with Luke Cage scheduled to debut later in the year. Iron Fist will make four. Based on the comic series of the same name, Iron Fist is about Danny Rand, a martial artist who can focus his chi using the mystical power of the Iron Fist. This allows him, for example, to enhance his natural abilities—increased speed, stamina, senses, all that good stuff—and to render his own hands supernaturally powerful.
Finn Jones in costume. Just kidding.
Obviously, this is great news for Jones, but it leads to an obvious question: if Jones is busy filming Iron Fist, will he be returning to shoot future seasons of Game of Thrones? And if he won’t, does that mean that Loras Tyrell will die in the upcoming season?
After all, things aren’t looking too rosy for the character, whether on the page or the screen. On TV, Loras is being kept in a prison cell by the High Sparrow (for buggery—the Faith Militant aren’t terribly progressive). They’re not likely to let him out without a fight. In the books, he’s lying on his deathbed after sustaining terrible injuries while storming Dragonstone. Nothing’s certain—it’s entirely possible for Jones to shoot two series in a year, especially given that Loras’ role isn’t especially prominent on Game of Thrones. Still, I’d keep a close eye on him.
Sophie Turner in
X-Men: Apocalypse
.
Staying on the superhero track, Sophie Turner talked a bit about her role as young mutant Jean Grey in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse, a part previously played by Famke Janssen in the first three X-Men movies.
"The difference between this and Famke’s Jean Grey is she’s young and isolated and so insecure and very alienated – even from the other mutants – because she’s so powerful. So there’s a real vulnerability to her and it’s great to see how her and Scott [Tye Sheridan] find each other through that alienation. She’s a great role to play, she’s so much fun, and her arc in the movie is amazing."
X-Men: Apocalypse opens on May 27.
So that’s two for two Game of Thrones cast members who will be playing superheroes. Will Nicolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) make three? Unfortunately no, but he does reveal that he narrowly missed out on the chance to play the title role in 2012’s John Carter, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ adventure stories about an earthling who’s transported to Mars, which in this universe has warring clans and princesses and a rather large special effects budget.
"The fact I missed out on getting the lead in John Carter. At the time that felt bad, but the irony is, that same summer I was cast in Game of Thrones. GoT became a huge hit; John Carter didn’t."
The role of John Carter ended up going to Taylor Kitsch, and as Coster-Waldau implies, the movie tanked. Game of Thrones was definitely the better move.
Coster-Waldau can also be seen as the Egyptian god Horus, who’s practically a superhero, in Gods of Egypt, which opens this weekend. For more of Coster-Waldau, check out his full interview in Red Bulletin, where he talks about his early Game of Thrones memories (on when he first walked into the Red Keep throne room set: “I thought, ‘Holy s***. They’re serious.'”), his geographical theory of happiness (“The trick is that we Danes have low expectations”), and more.
Nicolaj Coster-Waldau in
Gods of Egypt
. He has both hands in this one, but not both eyes.
Finally, a musical interlude. Jacob Anderson goes by many names. To Game of Thrones fans, he’s best known as the actor who plays Grey Worm, Daenerys Targaryen’s loyal protecter. But he’s also a musician who performs under the name Raleigh Ritchie. Check out his a free-wheeling discussion with The Hundreds about his musical process, and sample a music video for his song “Never Better,” released last month, below.