The dry spell before the next and final Game of Thrones season is around 500 days at this point, and with the huge revelation of Jon Snow’s true name, we would certainly love more of the former bastard much sooner. The next best thing might be coming our way, as actor Kit Harington is donning more period garb for another big, prestigious television series. Behold the teaser trailer for the new BBC miniseries Gunpowder, about the infamous 1605 Gunpowder Plot, which sought to kill King James I by blowing up the houses of Parliament. Harington will play not famed fuse-lighter Guy Fawkes, but the plan’s mastermind, Robert Catesby.
Like perhaps a lot of people raised outside the UK, I was first instructed to “Remember, remember the fifth of November” by Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta. The date is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks every year, often called Guy Fawkes Day, due to the man who very nearly started the explosion. It was, however, Catesby who began the plan, and who will serve as the focus of the new series. Harington, who developed the project with Ronan Bennett and Daniel West, is himself a descendant of the real Catesby on his mother’s side, as the star revealed in an interview. Not only that, but an ancestor on his father’s side was present when Fawkes’ decapitated head was paraded around on a pike following his execution. GROSS!
Harington will be joined in the cast by Peter Mullan (Children of Men, Harry Potter) who will play Father Henry Garnet, a co-conspirator; Liv Tyler (Lord of the Rings, The Leftovers) will play Anne Vaux, a wealthy woman who gave quarter to Garnet and other Catholic priests in a time when Catholicism was a no-no; and Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Doctor Who) will also star as Sir Robert Cecil, the nobleman who uncovered the Plot.
No word yet on when the three-part miniseries will air on BBC One, or when it’ll make it over to BBC America or PBS, but the official synopsis is here and is as follows:
“Every year on November 5 the English mark the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in London in 1605 with bonfires and fireworks. It is often called Guy Fawkes Day because many people believe – erroneously – that the plot was devised by Guy Fawkes.
“However, while Fawkes played a pivotal role, the man who dreamed up the plot and was its driving force was Robert Catesby (Harington), a 30-year old Warwickshire gentleman.”
Are you stoked to see Harington’s beardy good looks in 17th Century garb instead of fantasy armor? Let us know in the comments below!
Images: BBC
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
