James Norton stuns in Hightower armor in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3
New knight just dropped.
The number of new Westeros characters that Game of Thrones fans will meet on screen in 2026 is growing by the minute, thanks to the release of not only A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (a.k.a. the Dunk and Egg show) but the return of House of the Dragon. Part of a rollout of HBO Max’s slate of content for 2026 included a new look at House of the Dragon Season 3 and the first image of James Norton as Ser Ormund Hightower.
Norton is best known for television shows including Grantchester, War & Peace, The Nevers, and Happy Valley. He played John Brooke in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women opposite Emma Watson’s Meg March. He recently played a villainous role in another house-monikered series: House of Guinness on Netflix. Norton is also an Olivier Award-nominated stage actor for portraying Jude St. Francis in the West End adaptation to Hanya Yanagihara’s novel A Little Life, opposite soon-to-be Bridgerton Season 4 main character Luke Thompson as Willem.
Ormund Hightower is, at the time we will meet him in Season 3, the head of House Hightower. He is first cousin to Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and has a wife named Samantha Tarley who goes by “Lady Sam”–cute! Let’s not get into book spoiler territory and talk about what happens to his character in the Dance of the Dragons too much. Suffice to say, Ormund and his family members might be around for a while. Whatever a while means on House of the Dragon, that is. Barely anybody is really in it for the long haul. Looking at this first image, all we can say is that he looks good in his very fancy armor.
The new images from House of the Dragon Season 3 are very #TeamGreen
With this steely image of Ormund, who is decidedly one of the Greens, the first look is definitely weighted on Team Alicent’s side of the Targaryen Civil War at the heart of House of the Dragon. The four new images also show Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen looking pensive, and two very different looks at Queen Alicent Hightower in Boy Mom mode. In one, she’s bowing to her son Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) on the Iron Throne, and in another she’s embracing him.
However. HBO also released a sizzle reel for 2026 and a quick scene from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms that shows everyone’s new favorite dynamic duo meet for the first time. The sizzle reel includes moments from both shows, including the scenes those still images were taken from on the show. In the voiceover, you can hear Cooke’s voice and Alicent is talking about her former friend and current rival. “Rhaenyra will do what she has to do,” she says, “and what she has to do will be dire.” Likely thing for her to say!
(featured image: HBO)
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