Not long ago, we got word that the role of Tommen would be taken over by Dean-Charles Chapman for the currently-filming season four of the hit HBO show Game of Thrones, but apparently he’s not the only new actor taking over an already-existing character.
Even more recently, we had news that Michael Huisman had joined the cast of season four, but his role was not revealed at the time. However, it’s now being reported that he will be taking over the role of Daario Naharis, a role played by Ed Skrein in season three. This is a rather unusual move given that Skrein was doing a really good job with the part, making everyone speculate on whether it was his desire to leave or the showrunners’ decision to replace him. That being said, I find it hard to believe that the latter would be the reason.
The second replacement could be seen as even more unusual. Comic Book Movie is reporting that Icelandic actor Hafthor Julius Bjornsson will become the third actor to take on the role of Gregor Clegane (aka “The Mountain”), a role previously played by Conan Stevens and Ian Whyte. It’s been a while since Gregor was seen (he was completely left out of the third season), so it’s possible that the change won’t be noticed by anyone except die-hard fans of the show.
Again, as to why the role is being recast is a mystery. The character has a rather important battle coming up in this season, so perhaps they wanted to get someone who would be fully capable of doing it. Then again, it could be something as simple as scheduling conflicts given that the character has been MIA for so long. Your guess is as good as ours.
Game of Thrones season four, based on the latter half of George R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords, begins airing this spring (late March/early April).
What do you think of these changes? Why do you think they’ve been replaced? Let us know in the comments below!