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Confirmed: Naomi Watts cast in HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel

By Dan Selcke

VENICE, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 08: Jury member Naomi Watts on stage during the Award Ceremony during the 75th Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande on September 8, 2018 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
VENICE, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 08: Jury member Naomi Watts on stage during the Award Ceremony during the 75th Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande on September 8, 2018 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images) /
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Earlier this month, we reported that HBO may have cast King Kong star Naomi Watts in its upcoming Game of Thrones prequel show. Now, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed it: Naomi Watts is coming to Westeros.

We still don’t have an official title for the prequel show, although A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin prefers “The Long Night,” so let’s go with that. The Long Night will be set during the Age of Heroes, thousands of years before Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen or anyone else was born. The Wall had yet to be raised, the Seven Kingdoms were still seven kingdoms, and there wasn’t a dragon in the sky. It was an interesting time to be alive…we hope. Here’s HBO’s official description:

"Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series chronicles the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. And only one thing is for sure: From the horrifying secrets of Westeros’ history to the true origin of the white walkers, the mysteries of the East, to the Starks of legend… it’s not the story we think we know."

As for who Watts is playing, EW describes her character as “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.” I’m not sure how I feel about the word “socialite”; there’s a frivolousness to it I’m not sure belongs in a world where social gatherings are more about consolidating power than having a good time, but we’ll put in a pin in that. Given Watts’ coloring, I think she’d make a good Lannister ancestor.

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Whoever Watts is playing, she’s pretty much guaranteed to kill it. From Mulholland Drive to 21 Grams to King Kong, she’s a powerhouse actress who can take whatever showrunner Jane Goldman throws at her. We don’t know much about The Long Night, but I know this is a great choice.

When we discussed this news on a recent episode of Take the Black Live, Cheryl Wassenaar of Culturess said that Watts’ casting reminded her of Sean Bean on Game of Thrones: a big name actor whose character is doomed to die early and shock the audience. I saw her point, but I’m not sure Watts is well-known enough to have that effect. What do you guys think? Are you as excited to see Watts in action as I am? Is she fated to follow Ned Stark into an early grave?

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