Game of Thrones prequel given green light by HBO

[Brutikus]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-09/game-of-thrones-prequel-gets-green-light/9852870

HBO said on Friday (local time) it was moving ahead with a prequel for its hit television series Game of Thrones, the first green light for five potential spin-off projects for the award-winning medieval fantasy.

HBO said it had given a pilot order to a prequel that will take place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the biggest international hit for the Time Warner channel.

If all goes well with the pilot, the network will order a full TV series.

The as-yet-untitled prequel was created by British screenwriter Jane Goldman with author George RR Martin, whose novel series A Song of Ice and Fire is the basis for the Game of Thrones television series, HBO said in a statement.

It will chronicle "the world's descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour," and look at the secrets of the history of the warring families in the fictional kingdom of Westeros.

News of the prequel comes ahead of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, which is due to be broadcast in 2019.

The series, which has won multiple Emmy awards, is HBO's biggest hit ever with some 30 million viewers in the United States and an army of devoted fans worldwide.

HBO gave no timescale for when the prequel series might air but executives said any spin-offs would not be broadcast until at least a year after the final season of Game of Thrones in 2019.

Martin said a year ago he was working with at least four other writers on ideas for other spin-offs but details have remained under wraps.

But HBO and Martin have said some of them may not even be set on Westeros, and that fans should not expect them to feature the same characters as Game of Thrones.

"This story, A Song of Fire and Ice, is done. There's no revival, reboot, spinoff talk," HBO programming president Casey Bloys told the Hollywood Reporter earlier this year.

An obvious commercial decision for HBO given the success of GoT but good to see confirmation officially.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Interesting. I don't watch GoT but my kids are very much into it. Goldman is certainly talented.

 

[BestGirl]

Thank goodness it's not set immediately before the events of the original series (I'm looking at you, Amazon's Young Aragorn!).

 

[Drizzle]

Thank goodness it's not set immediately before the events of the original series (I'm looking at you, Amazon's Young Aragorn!).

I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing at the very least a miniseries based around Robert's Rebellion. I don't think I'm speaking only for myself either.

 

[James.B]

George R.R. Martin’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ Spin-Off Set To Film In Belfast In October
https://deadline.com/2018/07/george-r-r-martins-game-of-thrones-spin-off-set-to-film-in-belfast-in-october-1202423801/amp/

The pilot for George R.R. Martin’s recently greenlit Game of Thrones prequel is set to start filming in Belfast in October.

The fantasy drama spin-off, which Martin said has a working title of The Long Night, is reportedly set to film at The Paint Hall in Belfast’s Titanic Quarters. The studio has been used to film the main Game of Thrones series and is also home to the Superman TV prequel Krypton and set to house a Star Wars spin-off next year.

Created by feature writer Jane Goldman (Kick-ash, Kingsman) & Martin and written by Goldman, based on a story by her and Martin, the pilot, which was greenlit in June, is set thousands of years before the events of Game Of Thrones. The series is described as chronicling “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.”

Writing in a blog post in June, Martin added, “None of the characters or actors from Game of Thrones will appear in the new show. All of the successor shows we’ve been developing have been prequels, as I have mentioned before. This one really puts the pre in prequel, since it is set not ninety years before Game of Thrones (like Dunk & Egg), or a few hundred years, but rather ten thousand years (well, assuming the oral histories of the First Men are accurate, but there are maesters at the Citadel who insist it has only been half that long). We’re very early in the process, of course, with the pilot order just in.”

 

[godisawesome]

So, this sounds like the kind of stuff that would feature Bran the Builder, Lann the Clever, etc.

The real question is whether the "darkest hour" is a reference to the First Long Night, or whether it'll be something like the 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch becoming the TV show's Night King, or the Andal invasion. While the First Long Night would be one they could get the most freedom to go crazy with, I'm really intrigued by the ideas of the Kings of Winter (Starks) taking on the Barrow Kings and Red Kings (Boltons) while Lann the clever usurps the control of Casterly Rock.

Maybe the end the series showing some shepherds in a volcanic area mastering some new creatures, leading to the founding of the Dragon Riders of Old Valyria.

 

[The Big G]

i heard rumors of a Valyria set prequel called "empire of Ash" might be in the works too

 

[Pennywise]

George R.R. Martin’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ Spin-Off Set To Film In Belfast In October
https://deadline.com/2018/07/george-r-r-martins-game-of-thrones-spin-off-set-to-film-in-belfast-in-october-1202423801/amp/

Nice!

 

[Blitzkrieg]

 

[Fincher]

I'm pretty much speechless right now.

 

[antsman41]

What.

 

[Iceman]

Great to get confirmation. Looking forward to hearing more details.

 

[Iceman]

I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing at the very least a miniseries based around Robert's Rebellion. I don't think I'm speaking only for myself either.

I hope we see something based on that one day.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Josh Whitehouse Set As ‘Game Of Thrones’ Prequel Lead

HBO has set Josh Whitehouse to a lead role in HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel pilot from writer Jane Goldman and author/GOT co-executive producer George R.R. Martin that has Naomi Watts heading a fast-forming ensemble cast.

Whitehouse is a British actor who starred in Northern Soul and most recently wrapped the lead role in The Happy Worker, the David Lynch-exec produced drama directed by Lynch protege Duwayne Dunham. Whitehouse next stars in MGM’s musical retelling of the cult classic Valley Girl, playing the lead role originated by Nicolas Cage. He currently can be seen in the BBC series Poldark, and on billboards as the face of Burberry’s new fragrance campaign, ‘Mr. Burberry.’

 

[BestGirl]

I hope they scruff Whitehouse up considerably. On Poldark he looked like a boybander who wouldn't last two minutes in GOT's world.

 

[Kaleb]

Whitehouse is gonna end up being the Nights King,calling it now.

 

[Iceman]

I hope they scruff Whitehouse up considerably. On Poldark he looked like a boybander who wouldn't last two minutes in GOT's world.

Unscruffed up he would be just another Tommen in Westeros.

 

[MaceB]

She's gonna be a Lannister I bet ya! Stoked.


I realize that prequels are cool for fans, but I really wish Hollywood would stop producing so many of them. Where's the drama or the tension? I know it's gonna turn out okay. I can't think of a prequel that honestly helped the original. They almost always take away from the originals rather than add to them.

 

[Elayis]

Better Call Saul.

 

[2kt09]

I realize that prequels are cool for fans, but I really wish Hollywood would stop producing so many of them. Where's the drama or the tension? I know it's gonna turn out okay. I can't think of a prequel that honestly helped the original. They almost always take away from the originals rather than add to them.

I'm only a Star Wars fan because of the "prequels". I, of course, am referring to the Clone Wars series that actually make the galaxy far, far away feel like a galaxy.
This GoT prequel is supposedly an origin for a lot of things, so it might come across as more mythical given so many races and creatures became endangered in the current setting.

 

[BestGirl]

She's gonna be a Lannister I bet ya! Stoked.


I realize that prequels are cool for fans, but I really wish Hollywood would stop producing so many of them. Where's the drama or the tension? I know it's gonna turn out okay. I can't think of a prequel that honestly helped the original. They almost always take away from the originals rather than add to them.

Usually I'm opposed to prequels for the same reason but this one is far enough back in the past to be intriguing. What was the world like back then? Did the cities we've seen in GOT exist yet? And while we know that the Targaryens win we don't have any idea what will happen to any secondary characters.

All that being said I would like to get a GOT sequel set many decades after the events of the show. It's be neat seeing Jon Snow become a legend.

 

[Iceman]

That thing with prequels matters more when you are dealing with known characters. If it's new characters any of them can still die.

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

 

[Marvolo]

A Stark maybe?

 

[James.B]

'Game of Thrones' prequel announces diverse full cast, female director

“Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series 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’s 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.”

First up is the director. After a long search, British director S.J. Clarkson has been tapped for the show’s pilot. Clarkson most recently directed and produced the BBC/Netflix production Collateral and she’s directed episodes of Orange Is the New Black, Dexter, Bates Motel,and the pilot for Jessica Jones. Clarkson has also been announced as directing the next big-screen Star Trek film. She joins the prequel’s previously announced showrunner Jane Goldman (Kick-ash, X-Men: First Class) in crafting the first episode, which will be shot later this year.

As for the cast, Naomi Watts was previously announced to lead the series as “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.” Interestingly, women have also been cast in the project’s next two largest roles as well. None of the new roles have descriptions, however, and the show does not yet have an official title (author and co-creator of the series George R.R. Martin has lobbied for The Long Night).

Naomi Ackie: British actress with a leading upcoming role in Star Wars: Episode IX, and received accolades for her debut film role in 2017’s Lady Macbeth. She was also in the film Yardie and the Channel 4 series The Bisexual.

Denise Gough: Irish stage actress who won raves for starring in the plays People Places and Things and Angels in America, and was recently in the film Colette playing trans-gender pioneer Marquise de Belbeuf.

Jamie Campbell Bower: British actor and musician whose credits include The Twilight Saga, Starz’ Camelot, and Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd.

Shella Atim: Award-winning British stage actress who was a series regular in Hulu’s Harlots.

Ivanno Jeremiah: Britsh actor whose credits include AMC’s Humans, Netflix’s Black Mirror,and stars in the upcoming film The Flood.

Georgie Henley: Best known for playing Lucy in Disney’s Narnia films, she’s also in an upcoming Starz limited series The Spanish Princess.

Alex Sharp: British stage actor who landed the lead in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and appeared in How to Talk to Girls at Parties.

Toby Regbo: Credits include The CW’s Reign, Netflix’s The Last Kingdom and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Actor Josh Whitehouse has also been previously announced as in the cast.