Game of Thrones fans will soon find themselves in mourning after the series that they have grown to love over the past decade comes to an end. HBO will also miss the series, which has made the cable network mountains of money. But neither HBO nor GoT fans should despair because the network is already working on a spinoff/prequel, tentatively titled Age of Heroes .
Here is what we know, so far, about the new series.
It Will Take Place 5,000 Years Before The Events Of Game Of Thrones
Westeros has a rich backstory of which writer George R.R. Martin has provided some key details in order to set up the events of the book series.
Rehashing even the basic outline of that history here would make this article thousands of words long, so here’s a general outline of what you need to know about that time period. Before the arrival of the First Men, Westeros was populated by the Children of the Forest, a sort-of proto-humanoid society.
Then Men arrived from other continents, putting the two sides at war for thousands of years and almost wiping out the Children until a peace, known as the Pact, was forged, according to Gizmodo . The period of history following the Pact, during which the Children and Men lived largely in peace, is called the Age of Heroes and will be the period of Westeros’ history in which the new series is set.
Naomi Watts is cast to star in this prequel by Jane Goldman … set in the Age of Heroes, when the first Long Night occurred. https://t.co/q7tQi7e2yX
— House of No One (@HouseofNoOne1) April 26, 2019
At Least Two Key Character Have Ties To Current Characters
Two characters mentioned briefly and obliquely in the books are ancestors of current characters in the series. One is Lann the Clever, the ancestor of the Lannisters, and the other is Brann the Builder, the ancestor of the Starks. Buzzfeed writer Jenna Guillaume posits that there will likely be tension between the two men, much like the war between the Lannisters and the Starks has been the backdrop of the entire current series.
George R.R. Martin Will Be Involved
Buzzfeed confirms that George R.R. Martin, the writer of the original book series, will be brought back on as a writer of the new series. He’ll be joined by co-writer Jane Goldman, who will also be the showrunner.
We Know Precious Little About The Cast
The most recent casting news about the prequel series came months ago, in November 2018, via The Daily Dot . At the time, the magazine reported that Naomi Watts had been cast as a “charismatic socialite holding a dark secret.” Also signing on is Josh Whitehouse, whose role is only described as that of a “leading role.” A January 2019 update to the original Daily Dot article revealed that eight other actors had signed on, although the nature of their characters remains unclear: Naomi Ackie, Sheila Atim, Jamie Campbell Bower, Denise Gough, Georgie Henley, Ivanno Jeremiah, Toby Regbo, and Alex Sharp.
It Might, Just Might, Air In 2020
The Daily Dot also reported that HBO hoped to have the prequel on TV screens a year after Game of Thrones ends. As of this writing, that’s four and a half weeks away, meaning that, if all goes according to plan, the new show will debut in May-June 2020.
Of course, that’s if everything goes according to plan. The Daily Dot notes that re-shoots, re-casting, editing, network interference, and any number of other hassles could easily push that date back into late 2020 or even into 2021.
