Game of Thrones Prequel Finds Its Lead in Paddy Considine

Game of Thrones' upcoming prequel has found its first lead.

Per Entertainment Weekly, Paddy Considine will return to HBO to lead the cast of House of the Dragon.

Considine recently had a lead role on the premium cabler's The Outsider.

He is on board to play King Viserys Targaryen in the forthcoming series.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series, which is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen.

Miguel Sapochnik is on board to direct the pilot and additional episodes.

Condal and Sapochnik will partner as showrunners on the series, which will be penned by Condal.

According to his character’s description, Considine’s King Viserys is “a warm, kind and decent man” picked to rule Westeros. However, “good men do not necessarily make for great kings.”

“The ‘Game of Thrones’ universe is so rich with stories,” said Casey Bloys, president, HBO programming when the series was ordered.

“We look forward to exploring the origins of House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros along with Miguel, Ryan, and George.”

Blood & Fire, a novel George R.R. Martin wrote as a companion for the earlier books in the series, will be used as a template for the storylines for the new series.

10 episodes have been ordered, and despite COVID-19, the project is still set to air in 2022.

Rumors of the series being deep into casting have been going around for a while now, with some even suggesting that Vikings and Rasied by Wolves star, Travis Fimmel, will be joining the cast.

Despite the tepid response to Game of Thrones Season 8, HBO sees a lot of value in the franchise, which explains why it wants to keep it alive via multiple spinoffs.