What 'Game of Thrones' Could've Looked Like

Game of Thrones is pretty used to recasting characters by now. Daario Naharis, Tommen Lannister, and Gregor Clegane (aka The Mountain that Rides) have all been recast, and will all take on bigger roles in Season 4. But recasting has been a part of the show since the beginning — in fact, the show might look pretty different today if the show hadn't recast some of the roles in its unaired pilot.

When HBO decided to pick up the Game of Thrones, they decided to recast some of the actors and re-shoot most of the pilot. It's not uncommon practice for a show to do this — that's how the whole weird New Girl debacle with Coach came about. The original pilot has never been released or screened, but apparently, it looks a lot different than the one that aired on HBO: Daenerys Targaryen is played by Tamzin Merchant (from The Tudors), Catelyn Stark is played by Jennifer Ehle (from the BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries), Ian McNeice played the role of Illyrio Mopatis, and Grand Maester Pycelle was played by Roy Dotrice.

So what would the show have looked like with them? Would Catelyn would have been different without Michelle Fairley's stern worried look? Would Daenerys have been less commanding with Tamzin Merchant's waifish looks?

We'll never know for sure, but through the magic of amateurish Photoshop, we can imagine.

Would Catelyn's face have been two different colors? Probably not. But it looks like Jennifer Ehle could have definitely served some Catelyn Stark realness.

A Daenerys with a much more demure look about her. Also, a look that makes her face look a little crooked.

Bonus: A picture of the original Illyrio from the unaired pilot, in a much more outrageous costume.

Image: HBO; Game of Thrones Wiki