Everything we know about the 'Game of Thrones' prequel series

When Game of Thrones airs its final episode in 2019, there will be a gaping void left in the world of pop culture. In the six years since the show first aired, the lords and ladies of Westeros and beyond have become inescapable elements of what it means to watch TV in the 2010s, and if you think HBO was just going to let that go because the show is ending, you’re bad at capitalism.

Of course there will be Game of Thrones spinoffs, or as A Song of Ice and Fire author George RR Martin refers to them, “successor series” to the big GoT. Here’s everything currently known about the series; this article will be updated with new information accordingly.

How many successor series can we expect?

As of writing, only one potential successor series has been given a pilot order from HBO. In his personal blog (titled Not A Blog), George RR Martin wrote that “three more GAME OF THRONES prequels, set in different periods and featuring different characters and storylines, remain in active development.”

Those three mentioned do not include the one with a pilot order, bringing the actual number of potential series to four.

George RR Martin hinted in another blog post that one of the other series in development will be related to Fire & Blood, his upcoming book about Targaryen family’s history in Westeros.

What about the one with the pilot order?

That, my friends, is the first of the series to be greenlit. According to Deadline, the pilot is set to begin production in October 2018 at The Paint Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Paint Hall has been previously used for shooting some parts of Game of Thrones.

There isn’t a ton of information about the series, but its announcement at least gave fans a time period and rundown of the setting of the prequel.

So what’s the setting?

The prequel series will take place 10,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones during a time called the Age of Heroes. The characters of Game of Thrones regard the Age of Heroes as a time of myth and legend, when the founders of some of Westeros’ great houses walked the earth and performed the deeds that Thrones-era westerosi only know about through songs and stories.

The Age of Heroes came to an end when something caused an event called the Long Night, in which one of those weird super-long Westerosi winters lasted for an entire generation. In HBO’s released outline, the show will also tell the story of how the White Walkers rose from out of the cold...so maybe they had something to do with that Long Night.

Is there a title for that series?

HBO has not released a title for the series, but George RR Martin has suggested that the show be called “The Long Night” and introduced some news by writing “casting is now underway for THE LONG NIGHT, the first of the GAME OF THRONES successor series to ordered to film.”

So it’s probably called The Long Night. Or, as Martin jokingly said in another post, Game of Thrones: The Long Night.

So there’s casting!

Yes, Naomi Watts has been cast as “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.”

Poldark actor Josh Whitehouse will also appear in the show in an undisclosed role.

George RR Martin expects that more casting announcements will follow soon.

There’s a lot about George RR Martin in this. Is The Long Night his show?

Not really. A lot of the news about the show is coming from his (not a) blog, but he is only consulting on this and the other Thrones successors.

Jane Goldman, who wrote the Kingsmen movies as well as the screenplay for Neil Gaiman’s Stardust, wrote the pilot and is the showrunner for this prequel. Martin considers the show to be Goldman’s and throws all credit at her for the creation of this new story.

Are Benioff and Weiss involved in any of these?

Not that they’ve said, but it’s a safe guess that they’ll stay away from Westeros for a while. The Game of Thrones showrunners have a few other post-Thrones projects they’re working on, including a potential Star Wars trilogy.