Sharpe Heads For the Throne
No date has been set for the pilot as yet, and there is no promise that HBO will commit to a full series either, but with an impressive cast list headed up by Bean, this project is definitely being taken seriously.
He has been cast in role of Eddard Stark, a Lord who is pressured to act as advisor to the ruthless royal family.
Other cast members confirmed for the Pilot include Kit Harrington, Jack Gleeson, Harry Lloyd, and Peter Dinklage The show is been adapted and produced by David Benioff and Dan Weiss.
David has suggested a 'crappy' tagline for the project could be, "The Sopranos in Middle-earth", which can only set the imagination racing.
With plot elements that will contain spot of conspiracy, incest, child murder, corruption, conspiracy, a rival claimant to the throne across the sea, the still-festering legacy of a civil war 20 years before, a growing threat in the North and did I mention conspiracy?We should see a show which is far darker than Sean Beans Previous fantasy adoptions.
Production will begin in Northern Ireland in October 2009, at Paint Hall Studios in Belfast and has the support of the northern Irish government.
It is also likely that the BBC will have a financial involvement in the same way they did in HBO's Rome series.
Sean Bean sprung to fame as Major Richard Sharpe, the ITV series of Sharpe TV films in the early 90's, Was made world famous as Boromir in the Lord of the Rings films, but has also stared in numerous other Hollywood films such as Ronin, Patriot Games and Troy.