HBO goes to enormous lengths to maintain the secrecy of Game of Thrones... and then the franchise creator goes and seemingly spoils something major in his blog.
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The cable channel has deliberately not publicly named the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series, even after casting Naomi Watts in a leading role. All that was announced was that it would be set centuries before Game of Thrones in the Age of Heroes.
However, Martin avoided any secrecy on his blog when he named the prequel as The Long Night in a reaction to Watts joining the show.
"Casting is now underway for The Long Night, the first of the Game of Thrones successor series to ordered to film," he wrote.
"HBO has just announced the first cast member: Naomi Watts is coming on board as one of our stars… I could not be more excited. Welcome to Westeros, Naomi.
"Jane Goldman scripted the Long Night pilot and will be running the show. She and her team are busy in London right now, neck deep in casting, and I expect some more names will be announced soon.
"Meanwhile, there are still a couple of other possible prequels in active development. I can't tell you the subject matter of those projects, no, sorry, wish I could."
In Martin's lore, The Long Night is actually the harsh winter during the Age of Heroes in which "children were born, grew into adulthood and in many cases died without ever seeing the spring".
HBO has yet to confirm anything from Martin's blog. In related news, Sean Bean recently hinted that he'd be open to returning in the prequel if it could be worked out in some way.
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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