The Last Kingdom casts Tolkien star in pivotal season 5 role

Filming on the fifth season of Netflix’s The Last Kingdom is gearing up, and a new cast member looks to have joined the fray. Destiny is all!

As filming beings on the fifth season of The Last Kingdom, cast and crew members are once again sharing a steady stream of behind-the-scenes images for us to pour over. But while we don’t have actual shots of filming just yet, a recent Instagram story posted by Uhtred’s stunt double  Tamás Katrics reveals a surprising new addition to the season 5 cast. The boys are back in town!

We’ve got a lot of familiar faces here, including Mark Rowley (Finan), Arnas Fedaravičius (Sihtric), Cavan Clerkin (Father Pyrlig), Eysteinn Sigurðarson (Sigtryggr) and Ruby Hartley (Stiorra). There are also some stunt performers in the throng, suggesting this group has gathered to practice their swordplay.

Finally, we spy young actor Harry Gilby, perhaps best known for playing a young J.R.R. Tolkien in the 2019 biopic Tolkien. But who might he be playing in The Last Kingdom?

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 29: Harry Gilby attends the “Tolkien” UK premiere at The Curzon Mayfair on April 29, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

Nothing is confirmed, but we have a theory. Given that season 5 will take place after a time jump, we think that Gilby will play a now teenaged Aethelstan, the first son of current King Edward and the future first king of all England.

Fans will remember that Aethelstan was given to Uhtred’s charge at the end of season 4, nominally so Uhtred could protect him from rivals such as Aethelhelm, who wants to seat his own son, Elfweard, on the throne should Edward pass.

Uhtred was also to train Aethelstan to be a warrior, which would explain why we see Gilby training alongside the show’s stunt team. In Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Stories novels (the final book, War Lord, is out now) Aethelstan proves himself a capable warrior, while his half brother Elfweard turns out to be a bit of a Joffrey.

To us, all of this points to Gilby playing Aethelstan as opposed to Elfweard. What do you think?

It’s also good to see Ruby Hartley in the group, implying that Stiorra will have a more active role in season 5. Traveling alongside Sigtryggr, we’re guessing the two will get in their fair share of tussles.

Hopefully more images come out of the set soon. Destiny is all!

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