Game Of Thrones season 2 casting underway
The countdown to the return of Game Of Thrones begins here, with the first casting news coming through for season 2...
Filming for Season 2 of the brilliant Game Of Thrones is scheduled to commence on July 25th in Northern Ireland and casting is well underway.
The first major announcement is that the lovely Natalie Dormer, who played Anne Boleyn in Showtime's The Tudors and who'll appear next in Captain America: The First Avenger, has been added to the regular cast as Margaery Tyrell. For those of you who've not read the books, Margaery's introduced in the second instalment, A Clash Of Kings, and plays a role alongside those struggling to acquire or keep the Iron Throne.
The next season is going to be even more challenging than the first, with bigger battles, armadas, new locations, and the mythical creatures introduced in the first series. HBO's going to have to up the budget (and possibly the number of episodes) in order to do it justice.
Martin's books frequently focus on certain groups of characters, with others being pushed to the background until the next instalment. This is the case with A Clash Of Kings, where several beloved characters only pop up for a few scant scenes. However, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss are planning to address this, so as not to frustrate audiences.
Weiss told the LA Times, "... there are people off-screen in the book who we are going to write onscreen in the show to make sure people who viewers have fallen in love with are still there in the second season."
There are also unconfirmed rumours that Christopher Eccleston and Tony Curran are being lined up for roles, but we'll see what happens there, and bring you more news when we get it.
Who would be your dream casting for the likes of Stannis Baratheon, Brienne of Tarth, Balon Greyjoy and Melisandre?
