Game of Thrones star wants Melisandre to return in House of the Dragon
Could the Red Woman return to our screens?
Carice van Houten wants to reprise her role as Melisandre from Game of Thrones in its new prequel series House of the Dragon.
The Dutch actress portrayed the Red Priestess on the original HBO fantasy drama series from its second season to its conclusion in 2019.
However, given that her character was revealed to be hundreds of years old but used sorcery to keep a youthful appearance, there is a likelihood that she is alive during the events of House of the Dragon, which is set around 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
On Wednesday (24th August 2022), van Houten shared a fan's Instagram Stories post of a photo of Melisandre and a message which read: "Just watched House of the Dragon. I’m just saying, Melisandre is centuries old…"
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Sharing the post on her own Instagram Stories, the actress posted a 'fingers crossed' emoji and a winking face emoji.
The character of Melisandre does not appear in the George R R Martin fictional history Fire and Blood, which House of the Dragon is based on, but that does not necessarily rule out an appearance.
In the novels and the series, Melisandre originates from the land of Asshai, which is far away from Westeros in eastern Essos.
When she is introduced, Melisandre is the religious adviser of the Iron Throne claimant King Stannis Baratheon, played by Stephen Dillane in the show, and engages in sorcery and blood sacrifice out of her belief in him being the 'Prince That Was Promised' and will come and defeat the coming darkness.
Fans of Game of Thrones will have seen her attention turn towards Jon Snow (Kit Harington) before going on to be exiled for burning young Princess Shireen Baratheon (Kerry Ingram) at the stake in a sacrifice to her Lord of Light.
In the final season, Melisandre returned to aid Jon Snow and his allies against the White Walkers and her words helped spur Arya Stark into taking vital action.
In Melisandre's final scene, with her mission complete, she removed her red amulet and aged rapidly until crumbling to dust.
We imagine she will look a bit less dusty should she return for House of the Dragon!
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House of the Dragon airs exclusively on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW. With an Entertainment Membership, fans can currently bundle together NOW Entertainment and Cinema for £14.99 per month for six months. All episodes of Game of Thrones are also available to stream on NOW.
Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Lewis Knight is the Trends Editor for Radio Times, covering trending titles from TV, Film and more. He previously worked at The Mirror in TV, Film, and Showbiz coverage alongside work on SEO. Alongside his past work in advertising, he possesses a BSc in Psychology and an MA in Film Studies.
