Michael Fassbender as Bloodraven
Brynden Rivers, better known is Bloodraven, is perhaps the most iconic Song of Ice and Fire character to appear in the Tales of Dunk and Egg. A bastard-born Targaryen legitimized upon the death of King Aegon IV, Bloodraven rises to become Hand of the King and holds most of the power in the realm by the time of The Mystery Knight. Believed to be a sorcerer, he’s described as a pale, thin man with bone-white hair and a raven-shaped birthmark on his cheek. He has a vast network of spies and only has one eye — he lost the other during the Battle of the Redgrass Field. People have taken to saying that Bloodraven has “a thousand eyes and one.”
Technically, Bloodraven appeared on Game of Thrones. Remember the Three-Eyed Raven, the old man Bran trained with before he gained his powers? Although the show doesn’t drop as many hints as the books, it’s believed that this is Bloodraven around a century later. So those claims of sorcery might not actually be too far off.
For all that, Bloodraven only appears briefly in The Mystery Knight, bringing in an army at the end of the story to put down the second Blackfyre Rebellion. (Although fans believe he’s also in disguise as hedge knight Ser Maynard Plumm.)
Bloodraven is half-brother to Egg’s grandfather Daeron. During their brief scene together, he and Egg have a great back and forth. For how mysterious he is, he also jokes about how Dunk needs to better discipline his squire. It’s these human moments that make Bloodraven so fascinating — he is one of the most intense figures of Westerosi history, but enough of his personality slips through in his handful of scenes that you can’t help but want to know more.
Michael Fassbender really needs no introduction. He exudes exactly the kind of magnetism Bloodraven needs. He’s played all sorts of roles, but is perhaps most famous for playing Magneto in the First Class round of X-Men films. Fassbender absolutely steals any scene he’s in, which means he’ll make the most of his brief time onscreen as Bloodraven.
And that concludes our dreamcast! It’ll be a while yet before we get anything like a casting announcement for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, but since the show is officially on the way it’s safe to get hyped. Who do you want to see play these iconic roles? Let us know in the comments!
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