Game of Thrones: 3 roles Naomi Watts could play in The Long Night

With Naomi Watts set to be part of the cast of Game of Thrones’ next series, The Long Night, we’re speculating on what part her character could play.

Earlier this week, Naomi Watts became the first confirmed member of the Game of Thrones spinoff, what we’re calling The Long Night because George R.R. Martin did it first. As noted by Entertainment Weekly, we don’t know much about Watts’ character yet, but two things stuck out to this writer in this description: “a dark secret” and the character being “charismatic.”

With that, a bevy of A Song of Ice and Fire knowledge, and some good old-fashioned speculation, let’s get into three possible theories.

Remember: this is speculation only.

Lann the Clever

I will freely admit that I didn’t come up with this theory myself; instead, Dan Selcke of Winter is Coming brought it up on our recent episode of Take the Black Live. I said then that I was into it, and I’ll repeat now that I’m into it.

Although we’ve always thought the ancestor of the Lannisters was a man, the desire to subvert expectations has been made clear from the announcement of The Long Night getting a pilot on. Moreover, making Lann a main character would provide casual fans a touchstone while also rewarding hardcore fans who know what s/he will get up to as time wears on.

Besides, if you’re going to hire Watts, give her the kind of big role that she could do wonders with. The description of her character promises “a dark secret.” What if the dark secret is she’s the power behind the Lannisters’ rise to prominence, or if she simply is the reason the Lannisters rise up at all?

A Valyrian

Valyria, according to the wiki of Ice and Fire, existed “at least five thousand years ago,” relative to the events of Game of Thrones. If we’re betting that Watts will keep her main hair color, then it’s not outside the realm of possibility that she’s playing a Valyrian, since blonde hair isn’t unique to the Targaryens among denizens of the city.

Granted, Valyria would be in its early days at that point, but another common theory brought up is that the Long Night isn’t actually that long ago relative to current events — so it’s possible that the Valyrian Empire might show up at the height of its powers, pre-Doom. Besides, although Westeros would be the main concern, this isn’t to say that Essos couldn’t play a huge part anyway.

Nissa Nissa

With legends in mind, another possibility is that we’ll get to see Azor Ahai, however he may have existed in reality, and with him would likely come Nissa Nissa. The legends of A Song of Ice and Fire has it that Nissa Nissa dies when Azor Ahai stabs her with the sword that will become Lightbringer, in order to face the darkness. If The Long Night is truly about showing us what the legends were and are like, the wife of the hero that Melisandre and other R’hllor worshipers can’t stop talking about in Game of Thrones seems like a pretty safe bet.

The only thing is that unless the legend itself is wrong, then this might be a minor role at best. One possibility, though, is that Nissa Nissa is some sort of sorceress who enchants Lightbringer, but dies in the process. Magic’s not easy, after all.

Tell us your best theories for her character in the comments below.