Posted Tue Oct 30, 2018 at 07:35 PM PDT by Steven Cohen
The first cast member for the upcoming show has been announced.
According to a report by Deadline, HBO has cast the lead for its upcoming Game of Thrones prequel pilot. Naomi Watts is set to star in the currently untitled series.
Though exact character and plot details have not been revealed yet, Watts will play "a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret," and the show will be a prequel set eight thousand years before the events of Game of Thrones. As such, none of the cast from the current show will appear in the new series. Instead, the story will focus on a very different time in Westeros' history with a new ensemble led by Watts and a mix of strong female and male characters.
Here's the previously released synopsis from HBO:
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. And 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.
George R. R. Martin, the author behind the Song of Ice and Fire book series, co-wrote the story for the pilot with Jane Goldman (Kingsman, X-Men: First Class). Goldman also handled the teleplay will act as the showrunner for the project. The script is the first Game of Thrones spinoff to receive a pilot order, beating out four other potential spinoffs. Some of those additional scripts are no longer under consideration while others remain a possibility for a future greenlight -- though HBO has not confirmed an exact number.
Production for the pilot is expected to start next year. A director has not been announced yet. If the pilot is picked up for a full season, the show will premiere sometime after Game of Thrones finishes its run. Though an exact release date has not been announced, the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones is set to debut sometime in the first half of 2019.
Sources: Deadline
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