Remember, remember!
Jon Snow the Commander,
The Night Watch’s treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Night’s Watch treason
Should ever be forgot!
We didn’t want to waste any time in making a Jon Snow/Guy Fawkes joke after hearing reports about Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harington and his next possible project, a BBC produced drama based on the famous–failed–assassination of King James I in 1605.
According to Business Insider (in a report we learned about at Vanity Fair), Harington is in discussions to star in and produce the three-part drama currently titled Gunpowder, in reference to the infamous and unsuccessful Gunpowder Plot (that’s right, no explosion actually took place). It’s unknown what part Harington would play, though we bet most people would guess Fawkes himself, who was captured when he was found under the House of Lords guarding the explosives (the plan was to assassinate King James and reinstall a Catholic monarch, but authorities were tipped off).
However, Harington could also play co-conspirator Robert Catesby, whose death during the resulting investigation and raids lends itself to a much more dramatic telling. We think this might be where the smart money will be placed, especially since Harington recently disclosed that he is a descendant of Catesby, the so-called “brains” of the failed plot. Considering the whole thing blew up in the conspirators’ faces by…uh…not blowing up, it would appear they knew nothing about how to kill a king, so Harington definitely can play that role.
A treatment for Gunpowder has reportedly been written by Ronan Bennett, who has some experience with real life figures, having written the 2009 Johnny Depp film Public Enemies about famed American gangster John Dillinger.
The memory and motivations of the Gunpowder Plot also played a significant role in the dystopian graphic novel and movie V for Vendetta, which featured an unknown hero wearing a Guy Fawkes mask who panned to blow up Parliament.
Guy Fawkes Night is still celebrated in Great Britain on November 5th, with huge bonfires and fireworks, which is good since you have to burn the bodies so they don’t come back as wights….no, sorry, we’re mixing things up again. Honestly, it won’t be the last time either.
But what role would you like to see Harington in? We see no reason why you shouldn’t tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
What would a Game of Thrones spinoff be?
Images: HBO/Warner Bros.
