HBO Gives ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel Series Pilot Order, and It’ll Be Helmed By a Woman
Game of Thrones may be ending with Season 8, but that will be far from the last time we visit Westeros. We’ve known for some time that five potential spinoffs were in development at HBO, but now the network has officially given a pilot order to one of those prequel ideas. And the most exciting bit? The project is being helmed by a woman.
Lats fall, HBO brought on five writers to develop prequel concepts with George R.R. Martin. The network was most pleased by a pitch from Kick-Ass and Kingsman: The Golden Circle screenwriter Jane Goldman, giving her project a pilot order, according to TVLine. Goldman will serve as the showrunner and executive produce alongside Martin. But don’t expect to see your favorite characters; her prequel will jump back in time thousands of years before the events of the David Benioff and D.B. Weiss series to detail Westeros’ history at its “darkest hour.” Here’s the enticing description, which is sure to get GoT fans’ heads buzzing with excitement:
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’ 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.
As fans know, we saw the origin of the Night King with the Children of the Forest in the sixth season of the show, but this prequel suggests the beginning of the White Walkers is a whole different story. Whatever it ends up being, I’m thrilled HBO had the sense to hire a woman to helm the project; hopefully that means less sexual assault and more complex stories about women!
This may not be the only GoT prequel on the way though. The four other writers who signed deals with HBO for spinoffs include Max Borenstein, Brian Helgeland, Carly Wray and Bryan Cogman, and Deadline reports that one of their scripts might get a pilot order as well soon. Game of Thrones returns for its final season next year.
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