‘Lord of the Rings’ Series Casts ‘Game of Thrones’ Actor As Main Villain

Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings television series casts Game of Thrones actor Joseph Mawle as the main villain.

The new fantasy series serves as a prelude to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy as it is set during Middle-earth’s second age. Joseph Mawle will be joining stars Will Poulter and Markella Kavenagh in the highly-anticipated Lord of the Rings series.

Joseph Mawle is widely recognized for his role as Benjen Stark in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Along with his role on Game of Thrones, his other credits include film roles in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and In the Heart of the Sea. 

Joseph Mawle is the latest actor to have been involved in both Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Sean Bean famously portrayed Boromir in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Ned Stark in the first season of Game of Thrones. Of course, he dies in both franchises.

What do you make of this casting? Are you excited to see Joseph Mawle move on from Westeros in Game of Thrones to Middle-earth in Lord of the Rings? Sound off in the comments below.

Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is being developed by JD Payne and Patrick McKay, who will lead a writers room that includes Game of Thrones alum Bryan Cogman. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J. A. Bayona is set to direct multiple episodes of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series.

Full details on Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series are currently unknown, though it is reported to be before the opening prologue of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring during the Second Age of Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings series is produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema.

Amazon has not announced a released date for the Lord of the Rings series.

Source: Deadline