A pilot episode had already been filmed
A highly-anticipated Game of Thrones prequel series has been scrapped by HBO, it has been reported.
The planned show was set to take place thousands of years before the events of the original hit fantasy series, with Naomi Watts and Josh Whitehouse being the first to be cast for the project from showrunner Jane Goldman.
Production on a pilot episode for the unnamed prequel, which was commissioned in June 2018, wrapped earlier this year in Northern Ireland. It was later revealed that the first episode would reference the original GoT series.
Earlier today (October 29), news of the upcoming show’s cancellation broke online. Entertainment Weekly reported that the HBO network opted not to move forward with the project and that they had discovered it had been shelved weeks ago.
HBO have not yet confirmed these reports via an official announcement.
According to an HBO press release, the series was due to “chronicle the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. 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.”
Kit Harington as Jon Snow in ‘Game Of Thrones’ (Credit: HBO)
A separate Thrones prequel, however, still appears to be in the works. The show, which will focus on Targaryen house’s civil war, has not yet received a pilot order but is said to be more likely due to today’s cancellation news.
This second prequel will reportedly be set roughly 200 years before Game of Thrones. Last month, Entertainment Weekly reported that the show was close to being green-lit.
The outlet said that “the series would lead up to and eventually chronicle the house’s civil war — a.k.a the legendary Dance of the Dragons.”
Meanwhile, Game Of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss have announced they are leaving Disney Lucasfilm’s upcoming Star Wars trilogy. Elsewhere, they discussed the chaotic manner in which they started working on GoT over ten years ago.
