The man who created the “Game of Thrones” world is revealing some big info about the upcoming prequel series.
The “Game of Thrones” is currently filming its pilot in Ireland. The new series takes place 5,000 years before the events of “Game of Thrones,” and shows the events leading up to The Long Night.
Author and executive producer George R.R. Martin sat down with Entertainment Weekly and revealed some information about the prequel.
Forget about seven kingdoms — Westeros is broken in 100 kingdoms:
“We talk about the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros; there were Seven Kingdoms at the time of Aegon’s Conquest,” Martin says. “But if you go back further then there are nine kingdoms, and 12 kingdoms, and eventually you get back to where there are a hundred kingdoms — petty kingdoms — and that’s the era we’re talking about here.”
The show predates the Targaryns, so there won’t be dragons, but there will be Starks (who are descendants of the First Men) and other creatures:
“Obviously the White Walkers are here — or as they’re called in my books, The Others — and that will be an aspect of it,” Martin says. “There are things like direwolves and mammoths.”
There are no Lannisters, but the area that eventually becomes their home is in the show:
“The Lannisters aren’t there yet, but Casterly Rock is certainly there; it’s like the Rock of Gibraltar,” he says. “It’s actually occupied by the Casterlys — for whom it’s still named after in the time of Game of Thrones.”
We know the prequel heavily features three female stars — Naomi Watts, Naomi Ackie, and Denise Gough — but Martin says it’ll be an ensemble cast:
“I hesitate to use the word ‘lead,’” Martin says. “As you know for Game of Thrones, we never even nominated anybody for lead actress or lead actor [during awards season] until recently; it was always for supporting [categories] because the show is such an ensemble. I think that will be true for this show too. We don’t have leads so much as a large ensemble cast.”
Martin has hinted in the past at the title for the show being “The Long Night,” but that could become a problem because there was a season 8 episode of “Game of Thrones” that used that title.
“I heard a suggestion that it could be called The Longest Night, which is a variant I wouldn’t mind,” he says. “That would be pretty good.”
Whatever they call it, fans are here for it.
