Game of Thrones prequel’s coming
So, how’d those White Walkers get their start? HBO viewers may soon find out.
The premium cable channel announced on Friday it would make a pilot for one of the five Game of Thrones prequels it has in development.
The pilot will take place “thousands of years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones,’” the network said in a statement. It did not say when the pilot might air.
“The series chronicles the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour,” HBO added. “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 RR Martin, the author of the Game of Thrones books, wrote the story for the pilot, along with Jane Goldman. Goldman, the co-writer of the Kingsman movies as well as the 2011 movie X-men: First Class, wrote the teleplay and will serve as the showrunner for the pilot. Game of Thrones is the most popular show in HBO’S history, but it has only one season left, which is filming in Northern Ireland and scheduled to air next year.
HBO executives have been intent on figuring out a way to keep the franchise alive, and laid out a plan last year to put several scripts into development. The current Thrones executive producers, Dan Weiss and David Benioff, will not be involved in the prequels. HBO had said last year that they would be attached as executive producers.
A pilot commitment is not a full series pickup, but it makes this project a leading contender to make it to air. Other projects may be picked up, but HBO is sure to be extremely selective.