‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel: Everything to Know

Credit: Courtesy of HBO

‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel: Everything to Know

Trying to fill that Game of Thrones-shaped hole in your heart? Not to worry – a prequel series is officially underway at HBO. The series finale of the groundbreaking show aired in May 2019, but it didn’t leave all fans happy; in fact, the final season overall caused quite the outpour of backlash from fans who thought it could have been done better. “I think the guys did a great job,” HBO programming president Casey Bloys told Variety about showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss and the final season. “I think to a certain extent it was expected that for a show this big, there’s no way you’re going to please everybody. It’s roughly split with some people loving it and some people disliking it. That’s about what you’d expect. I think the guys landed a massive plane and did a great job doing it. But you’re never going to make everybody happy, nor should that be the goal.” Additionally, Bloys stood by the decision to have an abbreviated season; the final run was only six (very long) episodes, something many felt was rushed. “The guys have had a very, very specific plan in their head for a long time,” he said. “This was not something that was kind of slapdash, where at the end of last season we said, ‘Eh, we only feel like doing six.’ They were very, very deliberate. This was well thought out.” Benioff and Weiss will move on to work on a new Star Wars film, to debut in 2022 after The Rise of Skywalker. Jane Goldman will be the showrunner for the prequel series and Jessica Jones’ S.J. Clarkson will direct. Scroll through our gallery below to stay up to date on the Game of Thrones prequel.

Credit: Courtesy of HBO

‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel: Everything to Know

Trying to fill that Game of Thrones-shaped hole in your heart? Not to worry – a prequel series is officially underway at HBO. The series finale of the groundbreaking show aired in May 2019, but it didn’t leave all fans happy; in fact, the final season overall caused quite the outpour of backlash from fans who thought it could have been done better. “I think the guys did a great job,” HBO programming president Casey Bloys told Variety about showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss and the final season. “I think to a certain extent it was expected that for a show this big, there’s no way you’re going to please everybody. It’s roughly split with some people loving it and some people disliking it. That’s about what you’d expect. I think the guys landed a massive plane and did a great job doing it. But you’re never going to make everybody happy, nor should that be the goal.” Additionally, Bloys stood by the decision to have an abbreviated season; the final run was only six (very long) episodes, something many felt was rushed. “The guys have had a very, very specific plan in their head for a long time,” he said. “This was not something that was kind of slapdash, where at the end of last season we said, ‘Eh, we only feel like doing six.’ They were very, very deliberate. This was well thought out.” Benioff and Weiss will move on to work on a new Star Wars film, to debut in 2022 after The Rise of Skywalker. Jane Goldman will be the showrunner for the prequel series and Jessica Jones’ S.J. Clarkson will direct. Scroll through our gallery below to stay up to date on the Game of Thrones prequel.

Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO

The Plot

While author George R.R. Martin has revealed that three prequels are in the mix, only one has begun filming, which he’s developing with Goldberg. The story will take place thousands of years before Game of Thrones’ events and will chronicle the world’s decent from the Age of Heroes into its “darkest hours.” An HBO tagline reads, “Only one thing is for sure: From the horrifying secrets of Westeros’ history to the true origin of the White Walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend — it’s not the story we think we know.”

Credit: Courtesy of HBO

Will We Recognize Anyone?

None of the Game of Thrones cast will show up in the prequel, as of right now. “It's a different writer, creator and different feel and different world. There's nothing we're taking from this season and applying it to that by any means,” Bloys told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2019.

Credit: Dominique Charriau/WireImage

The Cast

While the original Game of Thrones cast won’t appear, there will be some major star power; Naomi Watts, Josh Whitehose, Miranda Richardson, Marquis Rodriquez, John Simm, Richard McCabe, John Heffernan and Dixie Egerickx have joined.

Credit: Courtesy of HBO

When Will It Air?

Don’t hold your breath! The pilot doesn’t shoot until June 2019 and the network is not giving an official date just yet. “What I'm not doing is working backwards by saying, ‘This has to be on the air by this date.’ We want to do the best show possible. This is a pilot, so we're doing it the old-fashioned way, which is shooting a pilot,” Bloys said. “My expectation is it will be great and we'll move forward and it'll move along on a regular TV timetable. I don't want to speculate any dates.”

The original Game of Thrones aired 18 months after the pilot was shot – just as a reference.