HBO gives a pilot order to the first Game of Thrones prequel series

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

With the final season of Game of Thrones quickly approaching, (although not quickly enough for some) HBO clearly has no desire to let the world of Westeros lay dormant, and the network has just given a pilot order to the first of five Game of Thrones projects which have been in the works.

The new show will serve as a prequel to the main series, taking place thousands of years before the events which we've been watching unfold since 2011. Jane Goldman (KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE) will serve as showrunner on the new series, and also co-created and co-wrote the project alongside George R.R. Martin. The series will chronicle "the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour. 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." Although part of me wishes that Game of Thrones would be left alone following its hopefully epic conclusion next year, it's hard to deny that the mythology of Westeros has so much more to offer.

Max Borenstein, Brian Helgeland, Carly Wray, and Bryan Godman are also working on other Game of Thrones spin-offs, but HBO president Casey Bloys has said that we shouldn't expect all five shows to materialize, saying they may go with "anywhere from zero to five but probably more likely around one." Bloys also said that we shouldn't expect the prequel series to land right after Game of Thrones wraps up. "There is not going to be anything in any scenario where we have any sort of prequel air for at least a year after that," Bloys said. "I want the final season of Game of Thrones to be the final season of Game of Thrones, I don’t want to use it to launch something else, I want it to stand as the finale of the greatest tv show of all time, I don’t want to do anything that infringes on that."