Amblin Sci-Fi Film 'Distant' Adds 'Game Of Thrones' Veteran Kristofer Hivju

Norwegian actor Kristofer Hivju, who's best known for playing the foul-mouthed, bear-bedding, giant-killing Wildling warrior Tormund Giantsbane in HBO's epic fantasy series Game of Thrones, is heading to space in a new movie.

Hivju has joined the cast of Distant, a science fiction film from Amblin Partners that has Anthony Ramos (Hamilton, upcoming In the Heights) and Naomi Scott (2019's Aladdin, 2017's Power Rangers) on board in the lead roles. Learn more about the project below.

Deadline reports that Hivju is the latest addition to Amblin's Distant cast, although there's no word yet on who he'll play. Here's the synopsis for the movie:

Distant tells the story of an asteroid miner who, after crash-landing on an alien planet, must contend with the challenges of his new surroundings, while making his way across the harsh terrain to the only other survivor – a woman who is trapped in her escape pod.

With Ramos likely playing the asteroid miner and Naomi Scott likely playing the woman in the escape pod, could this mean that Hivju might be playing an alien? Or could he be part of another team that also crash-landed on the same planet?

It's worth noting that Rachel Brosnahan, the star of Amazon's award-winning comedy series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, was initially announced as part of the cast for this film, but it appears that Scott has since taken over in that key role, because there was no mention of her in Deadline's new report. And speaking of changes, the movie was previously described as a "comedic" sci-fi film, but there's also no mention of comedy in Deadline's new description. Did they leave that detail out, or has a new draft from screenwriter Spenser Cohen (who also wrote Roland Emmerich's upcoming sci-fi disaster movie Moonfall) excised the comedy and made the film more serious and straightforward? Blades of Glory, The Switch, and Office Christmas Party directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon will direct, so it's probably a safe bet that the comedy elements have been retained.

While most audiences primarily know him from his multi-season arc on Game of Thrones or his appearance as a villain in The Fate of the Furious, Hivju has actually appeared in several comedies in his career – most prominently, he played a supporting role in Force Majeure, the excellent 2014 Swedish film that was remade earlier this year into a film called Downhill. (He also showed up in Downhill for good measure.)