The Night King didn’t make his Game of Thrones debut until season four, but he was the biggest of the show’s Big Bads, whether he’s telling Jon Snow to come at him, bro, or throwing a pointy stick at a dragon. The leader of the White Walkers also had an iconic design, with his crown-like spikes on his head, piercing blue eyes (must be a hit with the ladies), and wrinkly face (maybe not), but as revealed in the new book, The Art of Game of Thrones by Deborah Riley and Jody Revenson, he originally looked much different.
The Night King was a tricky character to conceive of, because usually, the design team models the character after a member of the cast or how they’re described in the book. But at the time of visual conception, the Night King hadn’t been cast yet (he was eventually played by Richard Brake, then Vladimir Furdik) and he hasn’t appeared in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels (the Night’s King is a different guy), so all prosthetics designer Barrie Gower had to work with was “regal” and “familiar White Walker traits,” according to Vanity Fair. The designers’ original concept is more menacing than the final product; he looks more Lord of the Rings than Game of Thrones.
Have a look below.
The Art of Game of Thrones offers an entirely new look for the ice-cold villain https://t.co/tvOoXnfPg6
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) November 4, 2019
It’s hard to imagine the guy on the left killing dragons for sport. He’s got more of a “evil schemes in an observatory” vibe to him. For more, head over to Vanity Fair.
(Via Vanity Fair)
