Summers span decades. Winters can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has ended, but that is just one chapter in the Game of Thrones universe!
Global – Created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Game of Thrones has aired for eight seasons, from 2011 to 2019 and although the series has come to an end on Monday morning (South African time), HBO’s massively popular fantasy franchise isn’t going anywhere anytime soon!
As of June 2018, four different pitch ideas are being considered, by four separate potential showrunners. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will not return to write for subsequent projects, but George R.R. Martin has seen the pitch ideas and will personally be a co-producer on two of them.
Martin has insisted that these upcoming projects be called “successor shows” or prequel projects, but not “spinoffs” – feeling that “spinoff” implies a deeper connection to the Game of Thrones TV series, but any potential ideas they are considering take place generations or centuries before the main TV series, and would not feature living characters or returning actors. Martin has also confirmed that they are not considering any sequels set after the main Game of Thrones TV series although that might change after the reactions to the series finale.
Led off by a prequel series that has reportedly already started filming and could air sometime in 2020. Martin, who has informally been referring to the prequel as “The Long Night,” is an executive producer.
The White Walkers first attacked during the Long Night, which occurred some 8,000 years before the War of the Five Kings and narrative of the main series, during a historical epoch known as the Age of Heroes. 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, only one thing is for sure: It’s not the story we think we know.
Naomi Watts will portray the lead character in the series, described as “a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret”. Josh Whitehouse will also star in the series.
According to HBO president of programming Casey Bloys, the Game of Thrones prequel series starts filming in early summer 2019. Given the secretive nature of the show, it’s unclear how long production will take, but if HBO gives the Game of Thrones prequel a full series order, it should then premiere in by spring 2020.
The other three prequel pitches are still being considered by HBO and there is not enough information to know if they will, in fact, go into production but leaked project names have included “The Doom of Valyria”, “The Targaryen Conquest” and “The Dance of the Dragons”.
What do you think? Are you excited to experience the world before Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister?
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