Let’s dreamcast “10,000 Ships,” HBO’s new Game of Thrones prequel series

HBO has hired a writer to develop Game of Thrones series “10,000 Ships,” about the sea voyage of Princess Nymeria. Who should play who in this prequel show?

Filming is underway on HBO’s first Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon, and there are reports of many more shows in the oven. It’s starting to feel like every other day holds some new announcement for the Thrones-verse (official name pending).

One of the more concrete things we’ve heard is that HBO has hired writer Amanda Segal (The Good Wife) to develop a show tentatively called 10,000 Ships, about the journey of the warrior princess Nymeria from Essos to Westeros roughly a thousand years before the events of Game of Thrones. Nymeria was one of the rulers of a people who lived on the river Rhoyne, a people so formidable at their height that they even took on the freehold of Valyria and their dragons.

But they weren’t formidable enough, and were defeated by the might of Valyria in war. Enter Nymeria, who decides that the only solution is to lead the remnants of her people on an epic sea voyage to escape the reaches of the Valyrian empire. The scattered Rhoynar spend several years at sea searching for a new home before eventually landing in Dorne, where Nymeria burns the Rhoynish fleet to signify that their wanderings are at an end.

Unlike House of the Dragon or the rumored Tales of Dunk and Egg adaptation, there isn’t much in the source material on which to base 10,000 Ships. Aside from a handful of pages in The World of Ice and Fire and some small references in A Song of Ice and Fire, we really don’t know many details about who Nymeria was, how she ruled, or how she handled the taxing journey from Essos to Westeros.

We do know some of the broad strokes though, and even those are enough to get us excited. If developed into a full-blown show, Nymeria’s journey would take us to places in George R.R. Martin’s world that we’ve never seen on the screen or the page. Moreover, we’d get to see how Dorne came fully into its power, since that’s where Nymeria ultimately ends up.

Let’s look at what we know about Nymeria and the other characters who populate her story, and then decide who should play them! Starting with the woman herself…

Hannah John-Kamen as Princess Nymeria of Ny Sar

When it comes to dream-casting the story of Nymeria’s voyage, there’s no role more important than the leading lady herself. Nymeria is fierce and determined; she has the wisdom to rule and the ingenuity to keep her people alive against all odds.

Hannah John-Kamen is best known for her role as Ghost in Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, which shows that she could pull off an action-heavy role like Nymeria. John-Kamen finds depth and nuance in the characters she portrays, and as one of the few characters who would be around for basically the whole run of the show, Nymeria would need both of things in spades.

Moreover, John-Kamen has a look that would fit Nymeria perfectly. The people of the Rhoyne are described as having olive skin as well as dark hair and features. They’re basically ancient precursors to the Dornish, which makes sense as Nymeria eventually settles in the sandy country and marries Mors Martell. The union of Nymeria and Mors’ two peoples gives rise to the Dorne we know from A Song of Ice and Fire.

All that said, quite a lot happens before Nymeria ever sets foot on Dornish soil and burns her fleet of 10,000 ships. And we can’t talk about how she hammered Dorne into the power that it became without first discussing how she arrived there, starting with why her people left the banks of Rhoyne in the first place.

Manu Bennett as Garin of Chroyane

If HBO is going to adapt the story of Nymeria’s voyage, it would make sense for them to use at least an episode or two to show how she ended up adrift at sea in the first place, because it’s a fascinating story.

In ancient times, the Rhoyne had many Princes and Princesses who ruled their own strongholds along the river. This lasted right up until Valyria, the ancient empire of dragonriders from which the Targaryens are descended, started conquering some of the Rhoynar’s farthest flung outposts and converting them into Valyrian colonies. It led to a series of small wars that culminated with the Valyrians sacking the large Rhoynish city of Sarhoy and enslaving its people.

The Rhoynar were proud and could not let this stand. At least, that’s how Garin of Chroyane spun things. Garin was the prince of the festival city Chroyane, one of the most powerful lords of the Rhoyne. Harnessing the outrage of the Rhoynish people, Garin convinced them to band together and fight the freehold. The only leader who dissented was Nymeria, who argued that they simply could not win against the Valyrian dragons.

The Rhoynish backed Garin, and he led an army that was supposedly a quarter-million strong out to face the Valyrians while Nymeria remained behind to safeguard the rear with the women, children, and elderly.

At first, Garin’s forces won many victories. They even managed to kill a few dragons, and Garin of Chroyane soon became known instead as Garin the Great. But eventually, the Valyrians brought their entire might to bear against his army. Hundreds of dragons filled the sky and Garin’s forces burned. It was said the dragon fire was so hot that the river Rhoyne itself boiled and steamed. The Valyrians carried Garin back to Chroyane in a golden cage so that he could watch the destruction of his home and enslavement of his people. Meanwhile Nymeria, upon hearing word of Garin’s loss, gathered the remaining Rhoynar onto a rag-tag assortment of watercraft and set sail in hopes of evading the Valyrians.

This is more or less all we know about Garin the Great, but it paints a pretty interesting picture of a misguided warrior-ruler who was able to embolden the hearts of his people…even if his mission was so misguided that it ultimately led to their demise. Manu Bennett, best known for his role as the gladiator Crixus in Spartacus and Allanon in The Shannara Chronicles, is an expert at playing inspiring-yet-tortured heroes. We’ve already seen him lead armies on screen and fight in battles, so it’s very easy to imagine him pulling off a role like Garin.

Garin the Great’s story is a tragedy, and Bennett would have a field day with that kind of material. Moreover, because his story wraps up so quickly and brutally, basically beginning Nymeria’s own tale, it would be a great opportunity to bring in an actor with a large presence like Bennett…only to have him be the show’s first shock casualty.

Barkhad Abdi, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Tadhg Murphy as the Three Corsair Kings

Thus begins the long voyage of Nymeria and her people in search of a new home. While the warrior princess does her best to keep the enormous fleet of ten thousand ships together (that number may be inflated by the passage of time), they are quickly beset by storms and other problems which plague them for basically their entire journey. One of the first and most notable is their confrontation with the three corsair kings of the Basilisk Isles.

Shortly after escaping the Rhoyne, Nymeria’s fleet stops at the Basilisk Isles to gather fresh water and prepare for the journey ahead. But the Basilisk Isles have a strong pirate presence, and the Rhoynar do not go unnoticed.

According to The World of Ice and Fire, the three corsair kings of Ax Isle, Talon, and the Howling Mountain had a long history of warring with one another…but in light of the opportunity for plunder that Nymeria’s people represented, they set aside their differences. They attacked the Rhoynar, enslaving hundreds and burning dozens of ships.

The end result of all this carnage and mayhem is that the corsair kings offer to let Nymeria and her people settle on the Basilisk Isles, so long as they surrendered their ships and offered each king “thirty virgin girls and pretty boys each year in tribute.” Instead, Nymeria loads her people back onto the ships and set back out to sea, leaving the Basilisk Isles behind.

We don’t know a ton about the corsair kings, which leaves room for interpretation when it comes to casting. This could be a great opportunity for the 10,000 Ships team to explore what different kinds of pirates might have looked like on the seas of Essos.

Barkhad Abdi knocked it out of the park as the Somali pirate Abduwali Muse in Captain Phillips, and since he’s gone on to do some genre work since then in movies in Bladerunner 2049, we’re betting he’d have the chops to make the jump to the world of ice and fire. The same goes for Tadhg Murphy, whose stint as the pirate Ned Lowe on Black Sails was one of the most terrifying performances on the entire show. Hiroyuki Sanada needs no introduction. Seen most recently in Mortal Kombat as Scorpion, the man can basically play any role at any level. He would be a great foil to Abdi and Murphy, acting as the “reasonable” pirate.

But really, none of these pirates are reasonable, and Nymeria’s journey is far from at an end.

Ivana Baquero as Druselka

Following the encounter with the corsair kings, Nymeria and her fleet go on to one misfortune after another. The largest happens when they try to settle on the southern continent of Sothoryos, where they spend more than a year trying to carve out a home amidst its harsh jungles. Diseases, mysterious ghouls, and ravenous wildlife make the Rhoynar’s time there a living nightmare, climaxing when the entire population of one of their colonies disappears overnight.

They set out again, making pit-stops at Naath and a rocky, uninhabitable island which comes to be called the Isle of Women after the Rhoynar’s brief stay there.

As you can imagine, the morale amongst Nymeria’s followers is probably pretty low at this point. So when a priestess named Druselka begins to tell people that she’s had a vision of sorts, of the “Mother Rhoyne calling her children home,” there are many who jump at the opportunity to turn around. Nymeria warns against this folly, but Druselka leads her dissenting Rhoynish home anyway…only to find the Valyrians waiting for them. Druselka’s followers are enslaved, and no one should be very surprised.

Ivana Baquero, best known as Eretria from her stint on The Shannara Chronicles, would be a great fit for Druselka. Baquero’s great at playing rogueish characters who insist on going their own way. Throw in a little of the fanaticism that drove characters like Melisandre in Game of Thrones, and she would be a great minor antagonist in Nymeria’s quest.

Oscar Isaac as Mors Martell

The desertion by Druselka is one of the final challenges on Nymeria’s long voyage. It’s not long after that that her people wash up on the shores of Dorne near the Sandship, the ancient seat of House Martell.

The story enters a new phase when Nymeria meets Mors Martell. At this point in time, Dorne is populated by petty kings and has no unified ruler. Mors is one of these petty kings, and it is said that when Nymeria came to him he saw an opportunity. Though her people were mostly women, many of them were warriors, as was common in Rhoynish culture. Moreover, the young boys and girls who were only children when they departed the Rhoyne had grown to fighting age during their travels. By allying himself with Nymeria, Mors increased the size of his forces tenfold. Unlike many of the other Dornish leaders, he welcomed Nymeria and her refugees with open arms.

And then there’s the romantic side of things. Apparently, Mors falls pretty hard for Nymeria. They marry, with Nymeria proclaiming Mors the Prince and ruler of Dorne. This is when Nymeria burns her 10,000 ships to signify that her people’s wanderings are at an end. They would live and die in Westeros.

Oscar Isaac has the poise and experience to play a seasoned Dornish leader. From what little information exists about him, Mors seems to be a character somewhere in the middle between Oberyn and Doran; shrew and calculating, yet also wiling to lead his armies into battle. While Isaac has been exceptional in a number of roles, we’re betting his time as Duke Leto Atriedes in David Villeneuve’s Dune will basically be the perfect demo reel for Mors Martell.

He even has a similarly tragic end…

Marton Csokas as Yorick Yronwood

If there’s one other Dornish lord we must see in an adaptation of Nymeria’s story, it’s Yorick Yronwood, head of house Yronwood.  He rules from a castle which is also named Yronwood, one of the most northern Dornish holdfasts that guards the Boneway, a treacherous pass separating Dorne from the Reach. He does not look kindly on the arrival of the Rhoynar or their alliance with his rival Mors Martell.

Following Mors and Nymeria’s wedding, the two lead their army on a vast campaign to bring Dorne under House Martell’s power. One by one, they defeat the other kings of Dorne and send them off to the Wall…until only their greatest enemy is left standing: Yorick Yronwood.

But even then, Yorick doesn’t go down without a fight. The fight between House Martell and House Yronwood rages for nine years, until Yorick eventually kills Mors during the third Battle of the Boneway.

But the victory is short-lived. In light of Mors’ death, Nymeria takes sole command over the Martell forces. After two more years of bloodshed, she finally defeats Yorick Yronwood. He bends the knee, and is sent off to the Wall just like the other Dornish kings before him.

Yorick is more or less the main villain during Nymeria’s conquest of Dorne, and few people play villains quite so well as Marton Csokas, whose run as the Baron on Into the Badlands was one of the show’s most memorable performances. From what little description there is of Yorick, he makes me think of a Dornish Roose Bolton: someone who commands intense loyalty, but often through fear.

There’s basically no question that Csokas could pull off that kind of material, since he’s already done it pretty fantastically. His look would work as well — the Yronwoods are typically described as slightly fairer than their southern Dornish counterparts, likely owing to the location of their ancestral lands being right at the northern edge of the country.

Edward James Olmos as Lord Uller of Hellholt

Not much is known about Nymeria’s second husband, Lord Uller of Hellholt — not even his first name, in fact.

However, it is known that Uller is significantly older than Nymeria and served as her counselor. Following the death of Mors, Nymeria assumed sole rulership of Dorne as its Princess, after the Rhoynish custom. (This is where the modern Dornish laws allowing women into leadership positions originate.) During that time, Nymeria weathers assassination attempts and invasions, with the aged Lord Uller by her side. Nothing is written of his passing — which leads us to believe it was likely of natural causes, given how thoroughly George R.R. Martin has recorded deaths related to battles and the like.

Edward James Olmos is a master actor who has been crushing it for longer than I have been alive. His roles are far too numerous to list, but to me the one that makes him as the best fit for Lord Uller is his time as General Adama on Battlestar Galactica. Olmos is excellent at playing deep, powerful material, and if Uller is helping Nymeria reorient herself as the Princess of Dorne following the death of Mors Martell, HBO will want someone with a steady dependable, which Olmos most definitely has.

Of course, they could always decide to take Lord Uller in a different direction. Game of Thrones loves its misbegotten marriages of convenience, and since Nymeria does marry again after Uller’s death, there’s also plenty of room to make this a less-than-happy union borne of convenience rather than affection.

Either way, it’d be amazing to see Edward James Olmos portraying a storied leader of Dorne’s past.

Dustin Clare as Ser Davos Dane

As with Lord Uller of Hellholt, not too much has been written about Nymeria’s third husband, Ser Davos Dane. But we do know a little more about him, namely that he was a distant relative of Ser Arthur Dayne, the Kingsguard knight who Ned Stark and Howland Reed fought at the Tower of Joy. Like Arthur, Ser Davos also wielded his house’s legendary greatsword Dawn, which meant he held the ancestral title of Sword of the Morning. He was a dashing warrior and a strong match for Nymeria in her later years. House Dayne fought alongside House Martell during the war against Yorick Yronwood, making Ser Davos a longtime ally of the warrior princess.

Dustin Clare, best known as Gannicus in the Starz show Spartacus, ticks all the boxes for this role. He has a magnetism on screen that would lend itself well to Ser Davos; he was an absolute scene-stealer during his time on Spartacus. He’s also excellent at acting during action scenes, which would be crucial for this role. Clare would also be believable as an ancient ancestor of Luke Roberts, who played Ser Arthur Dayne in Game of Thrones.

Nymeria and Ser Davos have one son, but after Nymeria dies of old age it’s the daughter she bore with Mors Martell who eventually rises to become the new Princess of Dorne. As with so many of these other characters, we know little about Nymeria’s children, not even their names. But given the epic quest that took Nymeria and her people all the way from the banks of the Rhoyne to the sands of Dorne, it would feel like a fitting end for the show to make it all the way to her daughter’s ascension.

This tale is a very different one than Game of Thrones — if the show wants to cover even a portion of Nymeria’s journey, we’re talking about years or even decades’ worth of story. Whether HBO can pull it off, we’ll just have to wait and see. But in the meantime, it sure is fun to dream about.

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