The Beast Within trailer has generated many comments, including my favorite from @TheAutumnWind_RN4L: “That’s all I wanted him to say in season 8 of GOT.”
They were referring to a line near the 1:52 mark where Kit Harington roars, “Kneel before your king!”
So many people (myself included) would’ve loved to see Lord Commander Jon Snow (a) claim the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones (GoT), and (b) say that when he did. But he didn’t. Instead, he returned to the Night’s Watch.
There aren’t any dragons or White Walkers in his new horror movie, but there are wolves—of the “were” variety. I particularly admired the way Entertainment Weekly made the connection with his GoT roots: “From dire wolf to man-wolf: See Kit Harington transform in The Beast Within trailer.”
So clever! I’d forgotten that dire wolves are to the Starks what dragons are to the Targaryens. (Then again, the GoT spin-off House of the Dragon is sort of an in-your-face reminder about the dragons and the family they belong to. And it’s fresh in my mind right now since season 2 just started.)
GoT Detour
All the Stark children had a dire wolf, even Jon Snow. (His was named Ghost.) But Snow was only half-Stark—and also half-Targaryen. No one knew that for the longest time, though. They all believed he was Eddard “Ned” Stark’s illegitimate son from some unknown mistress. Snow was actually the son of Lyanna Stark (Ned’s sister) and Rhaegar Targaryen, prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne.
Lyanna had been betrothed to Robert Baratheon but ended up falling in love and eloping with Rhaegar. Baratheon killed Rhaegar, claimed the Iron Throne for himself, and was hellbent on killing any heirs to it. Lyanna made Ned promise to keep her newborn boy Aegon Targaryen safe. Ned changed the boy’s name to Jon Snow and took him to Winterfell, where he raised Snow alongside the other Stark children.
Back to The Beast Within
Harington takes on the father role in The Beast Within. Here’s the movie’s synopsis from Well GO USA:
After a series of strange events leads her to question her family’s isolated life on a fortified compound deep in the English wilds, 10-year-old Willow follows her parents on one of their secret late-night treks to the heart of the ancient forest. But upon witnessing her father undergo a terrible transformation, she too becomes ensnared by the dark ancestral secret they’ve tried so desperately to conceal.
It sounded interesting enough to compel me to watch the trailer. (Well, that and Harington was one of my favorite GoT actors. I was curious to see what his new role entailed.)
I’m not sure what to make of the trailer, though. It looks intriguing enough, but where will The Beast Within fall on the werewolf genre spectrum? Will it be a worthy addition with a fresh take? (Sort of like what Abigail was to the vampire genre?) Or will it just rehash already tired tropes?
Guess we’ll find out when it’s released. The Beast Within opens theatrically nationwide on July 26. But one thing’s for sure: At least us GoT fans got to see Harington say a line we’d always wanted to hear.
Check-In
What do you think of the trailer for The Beast Within?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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It’s a compelling trailer. The voices, the half-sightings, the young actress’s facial expressions. All excellent.
GREAT observation about the actress playing the daughter, Priscilla! I took her for granted, but she’s a massive part of what made this trailer so tense. My bad… lol