Game of Thrones is over, but prequels are coming. The season 8 finale of Game of Thrones may have concluded the stories of Jon Snow, Daenerys, Tyrion, Arya, Sansa, and Bran — but the expansive Game of Thrones universe will remain on television in HBO’s newly-announced prequel series.
Here is everything that we know about the prequels so far:
The spin-off series will take place in ancient history. On May 17, HBO shared that the spin-off series will take place thousands of years before the original. George R.R. Martin has referred to the prequel series as “The Long Night,” referring to an event that occurred long before the War of Conquest and Targaryen rise to power, when humanity was first forced to fight against White Walkers and build the Wall to protect the realm.
“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. 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.”
Co-Creators of Thrones, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, are not involved with prequels. Game of Thrones has been criticized in the past for having a mostly male crew. This time, women will be at the helm of the HBO series. Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, Kingsman: Secret Service, and Stardust) has been announced as the showrunner, who is co-creating the series with George R.R. Martin. The pilot will be directed by S.J. Clarkson (Jessica Jones and HBO’s Succession).
Naomi Watts will headline the series. The Oscar-nominated Naomi Watts was cast in a lead role, playing a “charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.”
The rest of the cast will include Josh Whitehouse (Poldark), Naomi Ackie ( Star Wars: The Rise of the Skywalker, Lady Macbeth), Jamie Campbell Bower (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Denise Gough (Monday), Georgie Henley (The Chronicles of Narnia films), Sheila Atim (Harlots), Ivanno Jeremiah (Humans), Alex Sharp (How to Talk to Girls at Parties) and Toby Regbo (The Last Kingdom, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald).
Although no official release date has been announced, the series is likely to debut in late 2020 or early 2021. Fans of Game of Thrones will have to look for another fantasy fix until the prequels are released.