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20th May 2019

Here’s everything you need to know about the Game of Thrones prequel

Jade Hayden

Yes, there will be one.

Game of Thrones is over now. It just ended there, today.

You probably watched it and are either delighted that it’s finally over or devastated to see it go.

Either way, if you’re a fan of the show, you’re probably at least mildly curious as to what the prequel series is going to entail – because yes, there is going to be one, and yes, you will be watching it.

What is the Game of Thrones prequel called? 

HBO haven’t confirmed an official title for the prequel just yet (the actual show has just finished, remember?) but George R.R. Martin did seem to let something slip late last year.

Or rather, just straight up told everybody what it’s probably going to be called.

“Casting is now underway for THE LONG NIGHT, the first of the GAME OF THRONES successor series to ordered to film,” he tweeted last October.

The Long Night could easily be a working title subject to change, but at this point this is what we’re working with so we may as well just go with it.

Who’s starring in it? 

Naomi Watts, of all people!

She was confirmed by HBO and G.R.R.M himself in the very same above tweet, giving fans something to look forward to before the show had even ended.

At the time, the writer said that he “could not be more excited” about what was to come and that his team were “neck deep in casting.”

Since then, Naomi Ackie and Denise Gough have also been added to the bill, the former having starred in Lady MacBeth and the upcoming Star Wars movie, with Gough best known for her work on stage and TV.

Also due to make an appearance or two in the show are Jamie Campbell Bower, Josh Whitehouse, Sheila Atim, Ivanno Jeremiah, and loads of others who you’ll definitely recognise to see.

When is it set? 

Well, it’s a prequel so before Game of Thrones was set, obviously.

Not just a few years before though, this series is kicking off a whole 5,000 years ago.

Or 10,000 years ago. Or maybe just one thousand. There’s been a bit of discrepancy as to exactly when the series is going to be set, but judging by the show’s description, it’ll be a long way away from the Westeros we’re used to

“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,” it reads.

“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.”

When will it be on TV?

Again, we don’t know.

The Long Night begins production later this year so we could be looking at a 2020 job, or maybe even 2021 if they’re angling to take a bit more time with it.

Either way, it’s coming, so get excited.