Game of Thrones prequel pilot reportedly starts filming
According to a report from Entertainment Weekly, filming has quietly begun on the pilot in Northern Ireland — a familiar location that the flagship used for many years. For now, there is no guarantee that this pilot will get a series order. That’s the funny thing about this prequel — for all of the talk that is out there about this show, it may still not happen. What we know about HBO is that they’re going to want to get this right, especially in the wake of all of the anger people had over the end of Game of Thrones itself. When you have people within your own cast (think Lena Headey) expressing displeasure about the end of some of their characters’ stories, that’s a little bit of a problem for you. This show just set its own expectations so high that it had a hard time delivering on them on the other side.
The Game of Thrones prequel stars Naomi Watts in its headlining role, whereas some of the supporting cast includes the likes of Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, Miranda Richardson, Josh Whitehouse, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Ivanno Jeremiah, Alex Sharp and Toby Regbo. The title that George R.R. Martin has been using for it is The Long Night, though that’s not confirmed by HBO. Martin is executive-producing the new series alongside Jane Goldman, and the earliest we foresee this show coming is late 2020 or early 2021 depending on what the network thinks about the pilot.
For some more discussion all about the future of the Game of Thrones franchise, be sure to check out what we’ve got below! Once you do that, subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube to make sure you don’t miss some of our other updates.
What’s the story of the prequel?
It’s apparently going to be set thousands of years before the events of the main Game of Thrones series, and it could trace the origins of some elements of Westeros that become important down the road. What’s so fascinating about all of this to us is that it’s so far back in history that these are characters who may not have been discussed when it comes to Game of Thrones proper.
There are still other potential Game of Thrones spin-off/prequel projects in development. It remains to be determined if those will stay in development if this show is officially ordered to series. We do think that there could be value in doing multiple prequels, with the network choosing to air one show a year to minimize the lengthy waits and long post-production times for these projects. The latter is what plagued Game of Thrones as it continued its journey to the finish line.
Are you still as interested in the idea of a possible Game of Thrones prequel series as you once were? Be sure to share right now in the comments. (Photo: HBO.)