HBO has confirmed that the new Game of Thrones series will begin filming this year.
The prequel to the hit show, House of the Dragon, will begin filming in April, Deadline.com reported, with the news update being provided by HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys during a TCA panel on Wednesday (February 10).
It will chart the history of House Targaryen and be set 300 years before the original series.
While specific details about the show remain a closely guarded secret, the Daily Mail reports that several leading actors have already been cast.
King Viserys Targaryen will be played by British actor Paddy Considine in the 10-episode season.
Meanwhile, Emma D'Arcy will star as the king's heir, and Olivia Cooke, pictured below, will portray the king's second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower.
Matt Smith has been cast as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra's uncle, however, the part of Aegon II Targaryen, Princess Rhaenyra's younger half-brother, has not yet been cast.
The fantasy world created by George R.R. Martin has created a number of opportunities for spin-offs, Bloys said at the TCA event on Wednesday.
"He's got a lot of road maps in terms of history. So one of the great things about House of the Dragon is that it's an established history that leads you to Game of Thrones the show, and there is a lot of little branches. There is a lot of opportunities and stories to tell," Bloys said.
Cooke told to Variety last month that she had never actually watched Game of Thrones prior to auditioning for House of the Dragon.
"When I read the script, I hadn't seen any Game of Thrones," she explained. "But then I binged it and now I'm obsessed."
The actress said that she was told that she would be starring in the prequel back in October, but she had to keep it a secret until HBO's official announcement.
She also informed the news outlet that while she has seen some scripts, she cannot comment on what they are about.
She said of her character: "I’ve had one sort of preliminary fitting when they just draped some fabric on me but that was it."