Today In Game of Thrones: New Casting, More Recasting, Book Six Spoilers

We have a bunch of Game of Thrones tidbits for you, so let’s get right to it. Hit the jump to see which character has been recast (for the second time) and which new characters we know we’re seeing in season four, plus who’s playing them.

Oh, and as for those spoilers for book six, The Winds of Winter? They’re nothing major, and they’re hidden, so people who just want the casting info can hit the jump without worry.

The recast character is Gregor Clegane, aka The Mountain That Rides. He appeared in season one played by Conan Stevens and season two played by Ian Whyte. After being MIA in season three, Sandor’s evil big brother will be back in the form of Hafþór Júlíus “Thor” Björnsson, an Icelandic strongman competitor. If memory serves Gregor didn’t really have a lot to do in seasons one and two other than stand around and look big and scary, but book readers will know he’ll have a bigger part to play in season four. You can check out a picture of Björnsson here; he certainly looks big enough to play The Mountain, if nothing else.

As for the new characters, they’re all fairly minor. Lu Corfield (pic) will play an unnamed madame of a brothel in Mole’s Town, the civilian outpost near the Night’s Watch’s Castle Black. I smell sexposition on the horizon. And Elizabeth Webster (pic) will be Roose Bolton’s wife Walda, better known as “Fat Walda.” Roose has actually mentioned her before; she’s the Frey granddaughter he chose to marry when Lord Walder Frey said the wife’s dowry would be her weight in silver. A minor character in the books, Fat Walda nevertheless stands out from the rest because she’s not a sack o’ angst like pretty much everyone else. In fact, she’s actually pretty happy with her life and her marriage. I for one am happy we’ll be seeing her. Long live Walda!

There’s also a rumor that Locke (Noah Taylor), the Bolton bannerman who cut off Jaime’s hand, will be back in season four and might [mild potential spoilers] be forced to join the Night’s Watch. That would be a marked difference from what happened to Vargo Hoat, the book character whom Locke replaced, but hey, you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.

And now for spoilers. At the World Science Fiction Convention last weekend George R.R. Martin read a Tyrion chapter from The Winds of Winter, and while no recording devices were allowed, one the audience member transcribed what happened the best he could remember. Here are a few tidbits:

Tyrion, Penny, and Jorah, having joined the Second Sons, are fighting in a battle between Yunkai and Meereen on the Yunkish side.

The dragons Rhaegal and Viseron are flying around wreaking havoc, setting Yunkish soldiers on fire and then eating them. Mmm. Snackables to go!

The Ironborn show up to fight for Meereen, and Tyrion and Jorah both acknowledge that they’re on the losing side.

Jorah kills a Yunkish envoy, and Brown Ben Plumm, commander of the Second Sons, decides to switch sides. They were “Queen’s men all along.”

Now we just have to wait ??? years for the rest of it!

(via: blastr, blastr, Winter Is Coming)

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