Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington has traded his furs for a brimmed hat, but he’s still as brooding and intense as ever in HBO’s trailer for Guy Fawkes miniseries Gunpowder.

Harington stars as Robert Catesby, the charismatic religious fanatic and driving force behind the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 London, where a group of provincial English Catholics planned to blow up the House of Lords and kill King James.

The story focuses on Catesby, a committed Catholic at a time when Protestant England persecuted Catholics relentlessly. His refusal to abandon his religion brings him to the edge of financial, social and psychological ruin.

Mark Gatiss (Game of Thrones, Sherlock) plays Robert Cecil, King James’ spymaster, who directs efforts to hunt down, torture and kill priests, while rank-and-file Catholics are subject to oppression and the loss of their property.

The series also stars Liv Tyler (The Lord of the Rings) and Tom Cullen (Downton Abbey).

HBO picked up Gunpowder from BBC One. The three-episode series is written by Ronan Bennet and directed by J Blakeson. Harington also serves as a producer, and the character he plays is his real-life ancestor.

Remember, remember … the 18th of December, which is when the series premieres on HBO.

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