The cast of House of the Dragon‘ is visibly less white than its predecessor ‘Game of Thrones.”
But a co-creator of the show told TheGrill, an interview series by TheWrap, on Tuesday that the decision to add more diversity to the sci-fi and fantasy genre wasn’t meant to appeal to leftist ideals.
“I don’t think it was that easy,” said Ryan Condal said. “I think the reason for the successful choice… is that it was well thought out. It wasn’t just done on the surface, or just to tick a box or… to be seen as progressive.”
Condal, who is also showrunner for the HBO series, then followed that statement with another one that seemed to contradict his previous remarks.
“It’s 2022,” he said. “It’s a different era than these shows used to be done. We have an incredibly diverse audience living not just across America but in multiple countries speaking all sorts of different languages representing every color under the sun. And it was really important to see some of that on screen.
“This is a fantasy world. I think if this was a historical novel it would have a more nuanced discussion. But I just think because this is a fantasy world if we believe in dragons and shapeshifters and [the fictional canines] Direwolves, we can believe that not everyone in this story is white.”
The character Corlys Velaryon (aka the Sea Serpent) in House of the Dragon is portrayed by Steve Toussaint, a British actor of Barbadian descent.
For this reason, House Velaryon – a prominent family in the series whose members are central players in the story – are characterized by darker skin and silvery-white or sometimes dreadlocked hair. (However, not every character with the surname Velaryon fits this description.)
This deviates from the show’s source material. In George RR Martin’s book Fire & Blood, the Velaryons are described as having white skin, ghostly light hair, and violet eyes.
This has put Toussaint on the receiving end of racist criticism on the internet by Westeros purists.
Condal said on TheGrill that the decision to make House Velaryon Black was inspired by the family’s unique position in the franchise something Martin had said years ago.
“We went to the Velaryons in particular because that felt like the most amazing race on the show, and it felt like … these were people from a lost continent that we don’t really know much about,” Condal said.
“We know they all have silver hair, we know they have an affinity for dragons, some of them. And we know that, as quoted in the books and on the show, they are closer to the gods than to humans. So what does it all look like?
“And I always remembered that article…that George had talked about when he first set out to write these books and considered making all the Velaryons black. … Black people with silver hair – and I always remembered that as a picture.”
Condal also noted that the time period that House of the Dragon takes place isn’t too far removed from the fall of Valyria in the franchise’s lore.
“I said, ‘Well, Valyria was this huge continent, a very diverse and densely populated nation that fell into the sea. Why couldn’t there be a line of Black Velaryons in this story?’” he remarked.
“I think when you’re ready to take that first leap of disbelief suspension, you really come into your own [the idea that] it feels organically integrated and integrated into the show.”
The showrunner also said having a black family on the show helps “distinguish people on screen and remember who’s from which house.” He added that this helps highlight the “questionable parentage”. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen’s very white looking children who have the surname Velaryon.
“I think there are a lot of visual benefits that come with that,” said Condal. “And because Corlys himself has such a rich and diverse family line, if you just hit him up once to cast Steve Toussaint, his entire family becomes a diverse cast.” And it’s a really interesting way to fill the show with a bunch of different faces that you might never have seen on any other high fantasy show or the original series.”
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