House of the Dragon boss hints season 3 breakout schemer could be the next Tywin Lannister
House of the Dragon is sharpening its blades for Season 3, with co-creator Ryan Condal touting Ormund Hightower — played by James Norton — as the show’s Tywin Lannister, a ruthless strategist ready to tilt the Dance of the Dragons. Expect a cold-blooded power play when he steps onto the board.
Let's be honest, House of the Dragon is never shy about pulling in big, imposing characters, but it looks like they've got an especially heavyweight arrival planned for season 3. If you've been wishing for another Tywin Lannister type to step into the mess, you might just get your wish – in the form of Ormund Hightower, played by James Norton. Creator Ryan Condal isn't being subtle about the comparison either.
Meet Ormund Hightower: Tywin With a Twist
In a recent chat with SFX Magazine (hat tip to GamesRadar+ for pulling out the details), Condal laid out exactly why fans should pay attention to Ormund when he lands in Westeros:
'He's the Lord of the Hightower, basically the Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) of this world. He's the richest guy who's not sitting on a throne somewhere. Ormund has the largest standing army left in Westeros and a dragon, so he is going to introduce a big old wrinkle into this.'
To spell it out: think Tywin, if Tywin had a dragon on speed dial. Bit of a game changer, that.
The Hightower Family Connections (Because There Are Always Family Connections)
- Ormund Hightower is Alicent Hightower's first cousin (played by Olivia Cooke)
- He's also Otto Hightower's nephew (Rhys Ifans)
- James Norton (Happy Valley ring any bells?) is stepping into the role
Ormund: New Kid on the Block (Sort Of)
Here's where it gets a bit unusual for those who've pored over the books: Ormund isn't all that fleshed out in the source material. Condal admitted that Ormund is more of an outline in George R. R. Martin's world, so the HOTD writers had a fair amount of elbow room to make him their own. The team apparently took full advantage – Condal talked up how much fun it was to develop 'a really deep, complex, and three-dimensional character out of him that introduces a new kind of complication into the world'.
In other words, don't expect a carbon copy of Tywin. You'll get the icy strategising, but with a few extra wrinkles unique to Ormund and the chaos of the era.
House of the Dragon Season 3 hits HBO and HBO Max on 21 June.