HBO’s first Game of Thrones prequel joins the Army of the Dead
It appears that HBO won’t be moving forward with its Game of Thrones prequel focusing on The Long Night.
Game of Thrones fans excited to finally see The Long Night play out onscreen were in for some disappointing news this afternoon: It appears that HBO has axed the prequel series that would dive into the White Walkers and their origins. This came as a surprise to many, particularly given how hyped this series has been — and how far into development it’s gone.
While little else was known about this prequel outside of the General plot and time period, the network filmed a pilot episode in Northern Ireland several months ago. According to Entertainment Weekly, there had been whispers of the pilot being thrown out, but the news officially broke this afternoon. The pilot episode for the original series initially needed to be reshot as well, but it appears this show won’t get that opportunity.
The unnamed series — which usually went by Bloodmoon or The Long Night — was intended to capture a different atmosphere than Game of Thrones, and it likely would have featured very distant relatives of the Starks and Lannisters. The Children of the Forest would also probably have gotten a backstory given their relationship to the White Walkers.
With Jane Goldman as showrunner and Naomi Watts cast in one of the starring roles, this Game of Thrones prequel series also promised fans a story constructed by women — making its cancellation an even bigger blow, especially to those waiting to see how female creatives would tackle an epic world like Westeros.
On a brighter note, a Targaryen prequel series is reportedly still in the works — though it’s in the early stages of development, and little news has surfaced just yet. Hopefully, HBO will remain interested in that spin-off of Game of Thrones. We’d hate to see them say farewell to George R.R. Martin’s world after just one series.
Next. What can we expect from the GoT Targaryen prequel?. dark