Filming on the third season of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon reportedly begins soon, and we're seeing lots of signs that things are indeed picking up. The latest comes from Variety, which reports that English actor James Norton will play the role of Ormund Hightower.
We've heard Ormund's name on the show before but have yet to see him in the flesh. Ormund is the son of Hobert Hightower, played by Steffan Rhodri in the first season of the show. Early in the first season, Hobert was the head of House Hightower and the ruler of Oldtown, but by the time the Dance of the Dragons civil war begins, that title has passed to his son Ormund.
Ormund is the nephew of Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who was instrumental in bringing about that civil war. That also makes him the cousin of Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox).
In George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, Ormund Hightower commands armies in the Reach. He is loyal to King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), who is fighting his half-sister Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) for the Iron Throne. However, there are other powerful houses in the Reach who are loyal to Rhaenyra. These forces clash in a fight called the Battle of the Honeywine. Ormund's side looks done for, but then his nephew Daeron Targaryen, Alicent's youngest son, swoops in on his dragon Tesserion and turns the tide.
We don't know who will be playing Daeron yet, but he was mentioned in the second season and we saw Tesserion fly above a Hightower army at the very end of House of the Dragon season 2, so it feels like the show is setting up this plotline.
That said, the show has deviated from the book in some significant ways, so it's hard to predict exactly how things will play out. So far as Ormund Hightower's plot goes, the big difference is that, on the show, Otto Hightower is in prison somewhere, probably in the Reach. Otto may be used as a bargaining chip in whatever battle is to come. In Fire & Blood, Otto doesn't leave King's Landing during this stretch of events.
Also, on the show, King Aegon has already fled King's Landing, whereas that doesn't happen until later in the book. But news travels slow in Westeros, so it's hard to know how or whether that will affect events in the Reach.
As for James Norton, he's a veteran actor who's appeared on British TV shows like Happy Valley and Grandchester, HBO shows like The Nevers, and movies like Little Women and Bob Marley: One Love. We'll see how he fares as Ormund Hightower when House of the Dragon season 3 comes out on HBO and Max sometime in 2026.
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