House of the Dragon casts younger versions of key characters

Filming on the Game of Thrones sequel House of the Dragon continues. The show is set over 100 years before the original show, and tells the story of a brutal civil war fought before different factions of the Targaryen family, then at the height of their power and in possession of lots of fire-breathing dragons. Some of the key players include Rhaenyra Targaryen, the daughter of king Viserys I Targaryen and his chosen heir, and Alicent Hightower, the king’s second wife who is pretty sure her son Aegon should take the throne after the king’s death.

We already know that Rhaenyra is played by 28-year-old Emma D’Arcy…

…and that Alicent is played by 27-year-old Olivia Cooke:

While the actual Dance of the Dragons lasts only a few years, the full story of Rhaenyra and Alicent’s rivalry for the Iron Throne has roots that go back much further — they get along okay at first once Alicent marries Rhaenyra’s father, they both have multiple children and see those kids start to grow up and form rivalries of their own with each other, etc. We’ve wondered if D’Arcy and Cooke would just play Rhaenyra and Alicent at different ages or if HBO would hire actors to play younger versions of the characters, and now we have the answer: it’s doing the second thing.

Milly Alcock and Emily Carey will play younger versions of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower

The Hollywood Reporter just broke the news that Milly Alcock and Emily Carey will play younger versions of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. Both actors are young but pretty experienced. The 20-year-old Alcock has been working onscreen since 2014 and is known for roles in shows like Upright and The Gloaming.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Emily Carey already has experience playing younger versions of lead characters: she’s played young Wonder Woman in the 2017 movie and young Lara Croft in 2018’s Tomb Raider, in addition to several other credits.

Before we go any further, it looks like the famously talented HBO casting department is working its magic again, because Alcock and Carey really do look like younger versions of D’Arcy and Cooke.

The Game of Thrones prequel will have flashbacks

So what does this mean for the timeline of House of the Dragon? THR notes that both Alcock and Carey are listed as recurring cast members, meaning they don’t just show up for one flashback and leave. Will the show begin with these two playing Rhaenyra and Alicent only for D’Arcy and Cooke to take over as the story moves forward? Or maybe D’Arcy and Cooke are playing the characters most of the time and we’ll see periodic flashbacks to their earlier days?

I’d be fine with either of those. Game of Thrones steered clear of flashbacks, but House of the Dragon takes place over a good chunk of time and it could be useful to dip into the past. What I don’t want to happen is for the show to get all “clever” with the timeline and tell it out of order, or show us both timelines concurrently or anything stupid like that. I still have nightmares about when The Witcher tried to pull that nonsense.

What do you make of this?

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