Hold your dragons – it sounds like the Game of Thrones prequel won't start shooting as soon as we had thought.
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The planned spin-off, which is due to take place thousands of years before the events of the main show, was confirmed last month.
And there was talk that it would begin production as soon as later this year... though it now seems that was optimistic. Plus, there's not even a working title as of yet. C'mon guys, give us something to work with!
"We are doing a pilot that Jane Goldman wrote," HBO programming president Casey Bloys explained to reporters at the Television Critics Association summer press tour (via TVLine).
"We'd be lucky to get one that we're very, very excited about, and we did get that," he added of the five planned spin-offs. "We're just starting the search for a director... we have to cast it. We hope to be shooting sometime in the new year."
Bloys also revealed that there aren't any plans for moving forward with the other spin-off ideas for the moment, telling Entertainment Weekly: "The development process was very positive.
"Other people got busy, things didn't come together... It's fair to say we're excited about this pilot, we're hoping to shoot it in the first quarter of '19. I don't anticipate any movement on any other prequels until we [see what this one is]."
The new series is planned to take place in George RR Martin's mythic Age of Heroes and may answer some of our key Game of Thrones questions.
"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," its description reads.
"And only one thing is for sure: 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... it's not the story we think we know."
Game of Thrones season 8 will premiere in 2019. The show airs on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK. Season 7 is now available to buy on DVD, Blu-ray or digital download.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
