HBO is officially taking a big step forward with one of five Game of Thrones prequel spin-off shows currently in development.
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The US premium channel announced on Friday (June 8) that it had commissioned a pilot for an untitled series from George RR Martin and Kingsman: The Secret Service co-writer Jane Goldman, to take place in Martin's mythic Age of Heroes.
Here's the official description: "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. 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."
No other details have been announced, but Martin's works does give us an idea of what characters could eventually end up in this series.
For example, it is known that the House of Stark's ancestor Bran the Builder lived during the Age of Heroes and helped build both the Wall and Winterfell during that period to protect from White Walkers.
This period also led directly into the Long Night, a crushing Winter that lasted an entire generation and crippled the population of Westeros during a battle with the undead.
Martin's co-writer Jane Goldman is probably best known for her collaborations with the filmmaker Matthew Vaughn on the Kingsman movies, X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass. She's also penned Disney's upcoming remake of The Little Mermaid.
When Digital Spy talked to the writer last summer — shortly after her involvement in the spin-off was announced — Goldman confirmed that her concept for the Game of Thrones spin-off combined her trademark blend of humour and gore.
"Those are things I love and things I like to do," she told us. "It would be remiss of me not to put them in. So yeah!"
[Jane Goldman]
Production is currently underway on the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, with those episodes scheduled to begin rolling out on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK in 2019.
Because of that delayed timeline, this spin-off likely won't arrive on screens until 2020. HBO's programming president Casey Bloys has said all along that he wants to give fans at least one year of breathing room before launching any "successor show".
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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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
