Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth)
Next seen in: In Fabric (likely 2019), The Personal History of David Copperfield (likely 2019), and The Friend (2020).
Gwendoline Christie’s ability to alternate pathos and humor has come to define Brienne, one of Thrones’ most beloved characters. Christie’s future screen appearances look like they’ll build on that dexterity, with supporting roles already locked down in Peter Strickland’s horror-comedy In Fabric, Armando Iannucci’s farcical adaptation of Dickens’ David Copperfield, and tragic drama The Friend.
The most tonally un-Brienne of these turns comes by way of In Fabric (see the first line of our Luke Hicks’ review for evidence of Christie’s central role in the film’s most hilariously provocative scenes). Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield probably won’t be quite as unconventional, but it does promise to be a singular take on Dickens’ novel, and, if that source material is anything to go by, Christie’s sadistic Miss Murdstone will likely feature heavily in at least the first part of the film.
We’re much less knowledgeable about Christie’s role in The Friend, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s adaptation of Matthew Teague’s award-winning essay about the effect of his wife’s cancer on the lives of their family and friends. Post-production on that movie has already begun, though, so we shouldn’t have to wait too long for more details on where Christie’s character Teresa figures into the story.
Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth)
Next seen in The Hot Zone (begins May 27, 2019), and Way Down (release TBA).
Of all Thrones’ supporting characters, the most beloved is undoubtedly salt-of-the-earth royal counselor Davos. Given who plays him, that’s hardly surprising: from auteurist works like Steve McQueen’s Hunger to millennial childhood staple A Little Princess, screen veteran Liam Cunningham has been quietly putting in elevating, sympathetic work throughout his career, no matter how brief his time on screen. Given that Thrones proved Cunningham more than capable of handling roles significantly weightier than the ones previously afforded to him, it’ll be exciting to see where he goes next.
Currently, we know he’ll be involved in two projects: as Wade Carter, a “reclusive” Ebola specialist in National Geographic’s medical thriller miniseries The Hot Zone, and as an unnamed key character in [REC] director Jaume Balagueró’s Way Down. Considering the size of his role in the latter, Cunningham’s prospects look more promising in Balagueró’s bank heist thriller, in which he’ll play a charming art expert who leads a team of thieves on a mission to crack an apparently impenetrable Bank of Spain vault during the ninety-minute window when Spain competes in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.
Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy)
Next seen in Harlots (July 10, 2019), Jojo Rabbit (October 18, 2019), and How to Build a Girl (2019).
Cast your mind way back, and you’ll remember that Theon Greyjoy began life on our screens as an arrogant asshole. He was, undoubtedly, one of Thrones’ most hate-able characters – which is saying something – but by the end of “The Long Night,” Theon had emerged as a self-sacrificing hero, one of Westeros’ noblest saviors.
Theon’s final redemption makes it easy for us to go into any future Alfie Allen project and not automatically despise his character, a shift in star image that will come in handy for Coky Giedroyc’s film adaptation of Caitlin Moran’s quasi-memoir How to Build a Girl, in which Allen plays an enigmatic rockstar and the love interest for Beanie Feldstein’s teenage music journalist Johanna. But before that, there’s a small part as a power-hungry pimp in Hulu’s Georgian brothel drama Harlots and a supporting turn in Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, a role that definitely won’t be making use of any warm feelings we may associate with Allen post-Theon’s rehabilitation. This dark WW2-set satire will see Allen play a literal Nazi, specifically Finkel, the second-in-command to Sam Rockwell’s Captain Klenzendorf, who runs a Hitler Youth camp. Waititi has been clear from the outset that Jojo is intended to be an “anti-fuckface satire,” so we can expect Allen to be at his most detestable here.
John Bradley (Samwell Tarly)
Next seen in Tale of the Wet Dog (release TBA).
Playing George RR Martin’s stand-in for eight seasons has meant John Bradley hasn’t had much time to work on projects that aren’t set in Westeros. So far, the actor has tried his hand with small roles in historical dramas (Borgia) and dystopian thrillers (Traders and Patient Zero), but it’s a full-fledged comedy that will give Bradley his first starring role post-Thrones. Described by its director as a “character-driven ensemble comedy,” Tale of the Wet Dog will see Bradley play Douglas ‘Tool’ Tulowitzki, a homeless man in New York whose luck changes dramatically when he rescues a woman (Samantha Robinson) and her dog from the Hudson. Aside from the fact it’s filming this summer for a rumored 2020 release, that’s all we know about Tale of the Wet Dog, which is the only future project currently announced for Bradley.
…And here’s what the rest of season 8’s cast are doing next:
Joe Dempsie (Gendry): season two of Deep State (currently airing on Epix)
Conleth Hill (Varys): political drama Official Secrets (August 23, 2019), Irish police thriller series Dublin Murders (2019) and Irish coming-of-age drama Here are the Young Men (release TBA)
Iain Glen (Jorah): The Flood (June 21, 2019) and dystopian sci-fi Haven: Above Sky (2019/2020)
Jerome Flynn (Bronn): John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (out now in theaters) and Amazon’s upcoming The Dark Tower TV prequel (release TBA)
Carice van Houten (Melisandre): Domino (May 31, 2019), comedy thriller TV show Temple (2019) and Dutch prison-set drama Instinct (2019)
Kristofer Hivju (Tormund): Norwegian TV show TWIN (2019) and Downhill (release TBA), Will Ferrell’s English-language remake of Force Majeure
Hannah Murray (Gilly): Manson Girls biopic Charlie Says (out now in theaters)
Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei): Mindy Kaling’s TV adaptation of Four Weddings and a Funeral (July 31, 2019) and Netflix’s animated prequel series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Gemma Whelan (Yara): miniseries Gentleman Jack (currently airing on HBO) and Autumn de Wilde’s debut feature, the Jane Austen adaptation Emma (release TBA)
Pilou Asbæk (Euron): action thriller Project X-Traction (2019) and Blumhouse horror Run Sweetheart Run (release TBA)
Anton Lesser (Qyburn): psychological thriller Gatecrash (release TBA)
Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm): a second album under his R&B alias Raleigh Ritchie (release TBA)
Rory McCann (The Hound/Sandor): sailing off into the sunset on his boat
Related Topics: Alfie Allen, Anton Lesser, Carice van Houten, Conleth Hill, Dark Phoenix, Game of Thrones, Gemma Whelan, Gwendoline Christie, Hannah Murray, How to Build a Girl, Iain Glen, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Jacob Anderson, Jerome Flynn, Joe Dempsie, John Bradley, Jojo Rabbit, Kit Harington, Kristofer Hivju, Last Christmas, Lena Headey, Liam Cunningham, Nathalie Emmanuel, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Pilou Asbæk, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Tale of the Wet Dog, The New Mutants, The Owners, The Personal History of David Copperfield, X-Men
