HBO’s Game of Thrones may be coming to an end soon, but there’s still much for fans of Westeros to look forward to. As you’ve no doubt heard, the network’s putting together a prequel series for us and it seems that production on the project is now heating up.
Coming from writer Jane Goldman and Thrones co-executive producer George R.R. Martin, the show has cast Naomi Watts in the lead role today. Details on who she’ll play remain unclear at the moment, but we know that she’ll be a “charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret” and that the story will take place thousands of years prior to the events of Game of Thrones.
Here’s how Deadline describes the series:
It chronicles the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. And only one thing is for sure: from the horrifying secrets of Westeros’ history to the true origin of the white walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend… it’s not the story we think we know.
Of course, by journeying back that far into the past of Westeros, the showrunners are left with a huge window to explore, but anyone familiar with the Song of Ice and Fire novel saga will know that George R.R. Martin delves into the rich and often bloody history behind some of Westeros’ biggest families, so it’s really a matter of how faithful HBO’s prequel series will be once Thrones has come and gone.
Either way, we know that the eighth and final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones is set to premiere at some point in 2019, and by then, we’ll no doubt have a much better idea of what’s in store for us with the prequel. There’s a wealth of content to explore, so the sky’s really the limit for HBO and George R.R. Martin – the author just needs to complete Winds of Winter and everything will be dandy.