Expect to see a lot more of the family and homeland of Prince Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand in the HBO hit’s fifth year.
The men and women of Dorne are expected to be out in full force for the fifth season of Game of Thrones, thanks to a leaked casting sheet picked up by The Mary Sue and WinterIsComing.net. While the members of House Martell make up the bulk of the new characters revealed, a few non-Dornish are scheduled to crop up as well.
Those of you concerned with spoilers may want to avoid this list. For those of you unconcerned with teh spoilarz, WinterIsComing.net, lists the characters and their descriptions as follows:
Prince Doran Martell – Doran is described as the major new player this year, appearing in multiple episodes. The fiftysomething prince uses a wheelchair, is reclusive and rules wisely. It appears the show is looking to continue the trend it started with Pedro Pascal, and cast Latino actors for the Martell clan.
Prince Trystane Martell – Trystane, the handsome fiance of Princess Myrcella, is being aged up to 18.
Areo Hotah – Doran’s personal bodyguard will appear throughout the season, assisting the prince with his duties. The show is particularly looking for a black actor to fill the role.
The Sand Snakes, Oberyn Martell’s bastard daughters (with ages ranging 18-25):
Obara Sand – The eldest and most athletic Sand Snake will be having a major fight scene with a series regular character- not one who crosses her path in the books. This is an interesting change.Nymeria Sand – Nymeria is described as “mixed race,” with her father being the fairer Oberyn and her mother being darker skinned. The second oldest of these Sand Snakes, she’s beautiful, emotional and very strong.
Tyene Sand – The youngest of the Sand Snakes that we meet uses her wits and seductive powers, and is less of a physical fighter than the other Sand Snakes. She is just as deadly as her sisters, however, but her weapon is poison.
WinterIsComing also notes that a character from George R.R. Martin’s books, Dornish throne heir Arianne Martell, is not listed, though this might mean she’s already been cast as opposed to being cut from the TV adaptation.
The other characters listed to appear are:
High Sparrow – The books’ pious head of a religious movement will be appearing in several episodes in season 5.
Septa Unella – The show is looking for a character actress to play the imposing and unrelenting septa who spends a lot of time with a major series character next year.
Maggy the Frog- A fortune teller in A Feast for Crows, she’ll be in one episode next year.
Lollys Stokeworth – Just last week in “Mockingbird,” Bronn announced his intention to marry Lollys, whom Tyrion considers “dimwitted.” It looks like the sellsword will still be around next year.
Yezzan – A sleazy Meereenese slave owner.
The Waif – The strange child from the books that Arya encounters will likely be played by an older actress, one in her later teens, and we understand the show is specifically looking for a woman of East Asian descent for the part.
The Mary Sue also mentions a recent Entertainment Weekly article about HBO looking to film some future Game of Thrones episodes in the Andalucia region of Spain. While EW couldn’t divulge what part of Westeros Spain would stand in for, the smart money is on the hot, dry landscape of Dorne.
Source: The Mary Sue, WinterIsComing.net
