Lord of the Rings Taps Game of Thrones Alum Joseph Mawle to Play Villain

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Joseph Mawle is leaving Westeros and heading straight to Middle-earth: The Game of Thrones actor has joined the cast of Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings adaptation, our sister site Deadline is reporting.

Character details are being held tightly under wraps so far, but Deadline says Mawle will play the show’s primary villain named Oren. He joins Black Mirror alum Will Poulter, who’ll play young hero Beldar, and Markella Kavenagh (Picnic at Hanging Rock), who’ll play Tyra, in the main cast. Amazon’s adaptation — which earned a multi-season order from the streamer back in November 2017 — will precede the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s bestselling fantasy book series, which were adapted into a blockbuster trilogy of films directed by Peter Jackson.

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On Game of Thrones, Mawle played Ned’s brother Benjen Stark, a Night’s Watch ranger who disappeared during a mission north of the Wall and eventually sacrificed himself to save his nephew Jon Snow. He appeared in a total of eight episodes of the HBO hit, last appearing in Season 7’s “Beyond the Wall.” He’s not the only GoT veteran to join Amazon’s Lord of the Rings, either: Bryan Cogman, who was a writer and producer on Game of Thrones, will serve as a consultant on the new adaptation.

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