Much of the central cast from season 1 of “House of the Dragon” will return for season 2, including Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Tom Glynn-Carney, and Ewan Mitchell, as well as Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Harry Collett as Jacaerys Targaryen, Phia Saban as Helaena Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling, and Matthew Needham as Larys Strong.
Joining the cast are Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong, Castellan of the cursed Harrenhal and great-uncle to foot-fetishist spy Larys, Freddie Fox as Alicent’s brother Ser Gwayne Hightower, Gayle Rankin as alleged witch Alys Rivers, and Abubakar Salim as Velaryon sailor Alyn of Hull.
Shockingly missing from cast announcements is the character of Nettles, a lowborn bastard with no ties to the Targaryen family who manages to tame a wild dragon as one of the dragonseeds (wannabe dragon riders). She’s the only female dragonseed to claim a dragon, one of the only ones who doesn’t look like a Targaryen, and she’s a fiercely feminist character who makes “Fire and Blood” more than just a story about royal rivalries. Here’s hoping they’re just keeping Nettles’ casting a secret.