As Game of Thrones showcases its final season, fans are understandably emotional about the eight-year journey coming to an end. However, HBO announced last year that there will be five Game of Thrones spin-offs with one confirmed as a prequel. The prequel has already cast Oscar-nominee Naomi Watts, Josh Whitehouse, and Miranda Richardson. The pilot has been written by George R.R. Martin and Jane Goldman – the latter will also serve as showrunner.
Martin attended the Game of Thrones season eight world premiere on Wednesday in New York. While answering questions on the red carpet, Martin shared some new details about the prequel.
“It hasn’t started shooting yet, but they’re getting very close to that,” Martin said. “They have a great director and an amazing cast. I’ve been following along closely. I have my fingers crossed. It’s different. It’s definitely very different. It’s set thousands of years in the past. You’re looking at a whole different era of Westeros. No dragons, no Iron Throne, no King’s Landing. It will be interesting to see what the fans make of that.”
Not much else is known about the prequel and other spin-offs as well.
Although Martin has been more focused on writing his book rather than becoming heavily involved on Game of Thrones, he’s still just as emotional as the cast.
“I don’t think it should be the final season,” said Martin referring to the eighth season of Game of Thrones. “But here we are. It seems to me we just started last week. Has it been longer than that? The time has passed by in a blur. But it’s exciting. I know it’s an end, but it’s not much of an end for me. I’m still deep in writing the books. We saw five other sequel shows in development. I think I’m going to be hanging around Westeros while everyone else has left.”
The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones will premiere Sunday at 9/8c on HBO.