Season 2 of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon, is currently filming at Leavesden Studios in Surrey, and while we're unlikely to get an official announcement until the strikes are at an end, reports from the set indicate that a major new character has been cast.
According to WikiOfThrones.com and several other outlets, Tom Taylor has joined the production as Ned Stark's ancestor, Lord Cregan Stark.
Known as the Wolf of the North (and the Old Man of the North in later life), Cregan was the Lord of Winterfell and head of House Stark during the reigns of kings Viserys I, Aegon II, Aegon III and Daeron I Targaryen. He also served as Hand of the King for Aegon III after the Dance of the Dragons.
During the war between the Greens and the Blacks, Cregan became a powerful ally of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen after bonding with her son Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, who flew to Winterfell to negotiate with the stern lord and attempt to gain support for his mother's cause. We won't go into what happens next to avoid spoilers for the show, but let's just say Cregan and his forces cause a lot of problems for Queen Alicent and her followers.
The now 22-year-old Taylor played Jake Chambers in the big-screen adaptation of The Dark Tower, and has appeared in the likes of Doctor Foster, The Kid Who Would be King, and The Bay. He also played young Uhtred in The Last Kingdom.
We'll be sure to update once his casting is made official.
"The prequel series finds the Targaryen dynasty at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires—real and imagined—crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins almost 193 years before the events of Game of Thrones, when King Viserys Targaryen breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm."
House of the Dragon stars Paddy Considine (Peaky Blinders) as King Viserys Targaryen, Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One) as Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy (Wanderlust) as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Prince Daemon Targaryen.
An exact season 2 premiere date has yet to be announced.