'Fawkes will light the fuse, and I, Robert Catesby, will blow the king and all his men,' Kit says in the teaser, before adding, 'to hell.'
- August 29, 2017
AceShowbiz -
Eventhough "Game of Thrones" has only one season left before wrapping up, Kit Harington is not going to leave the small screen anytime soon. The British heartthrob, who plays Jon Snow on the hit HBO series, will portray Robert Catesby on upcoming BBC One series "Gunpowder". The network has just unveiled the first teaser of the miniseries, featuring Kit as the mastermind of the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
"My wife is dead. My name, disgraced. My friends and family, tortured and hanged. We must strike at the root," says Kit's Robert in a voiceover. Meanwhile, Tom Cullen's Guy Fawkes is seen spreading the gunpowder in an apparent warehouse.
Robert later dramatically appears behind Guy's back. He says, "Fawkes will light the fuse, and I, Robert Catesby, will blow the king and all his men," and adds a suspensive pause before he continues, "to hell."
BBC also releases an array of photos which offer the first look at some characters of the 3-part series. Kit's Robert is seen standing with a stern look on his face. Another photo features Liv Tyler, who portrays a character named Ann Vaux. The final photo gives the first look at Edward Holcroft's Thomas Wintour, Robert's friend and co-conspirator.
💣 First look pictures of Kit Harington, @LivTyler and Edward Holcroft in @BBCOne drama #Gunpowder. pic.twitter.com/HPfYXkumZF
— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) August 28, 2017
Also starring on the series are Peter Mullan as Father Garnet, Mark Gatiss as the Spymaster Robert Cecil, and Shaun Dooley as Sir William Wade, Lieutenant of The Tower and Cecil's right-hand man. The cast also includes Robert Emms (Father John Gerard), Derek Riddell (King James), Sian Webber (Lady Dorothy Dibdale), David Bamber (The Earl of Northumberland) and Kevin Eldon (Sir Joseph Hawksworth). Meanwhile, the acclaimed Spanish actor Pedro Casablanc will play the Constable of Castile.
"Gunpowder" follows the story of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, also known as Gunpowder Treason plot. It was a plan to blow up the House of Lords and assassinate King James I, made by a group of provincial English Catholics in order to restore a Catholic to the throne of England. The plot was discovered and foiled on November 5. The day later evolved into the Guy Fawkes Day, which sees people ringing of church bells and making bonfires.
The official logline of the series reads, "The 17th century thriller delves into the history behind the plot evolution, the selection of the team to carry it out, the gathering of the resources, and the obstacles they came up against. At the same time a deadly cat and mouse game is played out with [King James I's spymaster Chief Robert] Cecil's [Mark Gatiss] ruthless spy network."
Written by Ronan Bennett ("Top Boy"), "Gunpowder" is directed by J. Blakeson and produced by Kudos in association with Thriker Films. Ollie Madden executive produces for Kudos with Stephen Wright serving as EP for the BBC. Kit and Daniel West will co-executive produce for Thriker Films, with Laurie Borg producing.
