House of the Dragon has one more “lead character” to cast

A lot of the main characters in House of the Dragon have been cast. But reportedly there’s still one “lead” who has yet to be announced.

With filming set to start in a few months, HBO is going all in on House of the Dragon, its Game of Thrones prequel show. Set during the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, we know about several of the actors who will play some of the key characters: Paddy Considine is King Viserys I Targaryen, who’s death kicks off the war; Emma D’Arcy is his eldest child Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, who wants his throne; Olivia Cooke is his second wife Alicent Hightower, who wants it for her son Aegon; and Matt Smith is Daemon Targaryen, who joins Rhaenyra’s side in a bloody war that will change the fate of Westeros.

Of course, there are a lot more characters than that in this story — this is a follow-up to Game of Thrones, after all, so any cast that isn’t at least several dozen people big will be a disappointment. There’s the one-eyed Aemond Targaryen; the Queen Who Never Was Rhaenys Targaryen; the Northern lord Cregan Stark who ushers in the Hour of the Wolf; the influential Kingsguard commander Criston Cole; the craft court jester Mushroom…and the list goes on and on.

But according to Deadline, which is pretty unimpeachable when it comes to these things, there’s only one “lead” character yet to cast: Lord Corlys Velaryon, known as the Sea Snake, who becomes Hand to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen during the Dance of the Dragons. A powerful lord, Corlys amassed a ton of wealth during his seafaring adventures, and provided Rhaenyra with over half her army.

Proud, intelligent and intractable, Corlys is a key player in this drama, and I’m not surprised he’d be considered a “lead” at least for the purposes of casting. And note that the term “lead” in this context doesn’t mean that these five are the only characters who matter, just that they’re first on the call sheet.

As for who will play him, Deadline says that Danny Sapani (Black Panther, Penny Dreadful) is being considered:

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 08: Danny Sapani attends the UK’s first prize celebrating social change in entertainment and media at BAFTA on February 08, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)

The hype train for House of the Dragon is officially leaving the station.

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