HBO’s Game of Thrones has been the jewel in the crown of the network’s programming for a while now and with the series approaching its final season, the eagerly awaited prequel has finally been given a name; The Long Night.
This prequel series will be set 8000 years before the main series, in a time called the Age of Heroes. Handily, this also happens to be the first appearance of the ‘Others’, A.K.A The White Walkers during one of the worst winters to hit the fantasy land of Westeros.
Details regarding the plot of The Long Night are sparse, with only two cast members announced. First of those is Naomi Watts who has been cast as the lead in the show, with her character described ‘A charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret’. Watts is best known for her roles in King Kong, Mulholland Drive and Birdman. Opposite her, Poldark’s Josh Whitmore has been cast as a yet unknown character.
Interestingly, A Song of Ice and Fire author George RR Martin has also revealed that several other Game of Thrones prequels are also in ‘active development’, giving hope to those of us who want to see a series focusing on Robert’s Rebellion.
This story has developed with Martin now issuing a later blog post stating ‘HBO has informed me that the Jane Goldman pilot is not (yet) titled THE LONG NIGHT. That is certainly the title I prefer, but for the moment the pilot is still officially UNTITLED’. So the prequel may not actually be called ‘The Long night’ but George RR Martin would very much like that to be the name.
The prequel, whatever its eventual name will be, won’t be hitting our screens for some time now, but Game of Thrones fans have plenty to look forward to with series 8 airing in the first half of 2019.
