The Game of Thrones finale doesn't air until Spring 2019, yet the streams of tears have begun flowing already. No one is quite ready to say goodbye to the fantasy series that has been a TV staple since 2011 and, rather then fearing for the characters as they prepare to meet their doom, a lot of us are fearing for ourselves. What are we going to do without it?
But fear not, good people of Westeros, your time is not over quite yet. A Game of Thrones prequel is in the works - and, according to exciting new reports, it is set to start filming in Belfast in October this year.
Showrunners have already warned us not to expect anyone familiar in the new series; it will be set 1,000 years before the events of the main series and will not feature any of the current cast. In a move that will thrill fans, the pilot order describes the series as revealing "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."
In June, George R.R. Martin himself wrote about the new show on his blog, revealing that they hadn't worked out the small details of the series so far.
"This one really puts the PRE in prequel, since it is set not ninety years before GAME OF THRONES (like Dunk & Egg), or a few hundred years, but rather ten thousand years (well, assuming the oral histories of the First Men are accurate, but there are maesters at the Citadel who insist it has only been half that long)," he wrote. "We're very early in the process, of course, with the pilot order just in, so we don't have a director yet, or a cast, or a location, or even a title. My vote would be THE LONG NIGHT, which says it all, but I'd be surprised if that's where we end up. More likely HBO will want to work the phrase 'game of thrones' in there somewhere. We'll know sooner or later)."
The 69-year-old writer - who wants to name the series The Long Night - also added that, while he had been involved in developing the prequel of the much-loved fantasy series, most of the praise should go towards Jane Goldman, his co-creator, who also wrote the "Kingsmen" films and one "X-Men" movie. "but really, the accolades here should go to Jane. She has been an absolute thrill to work with… and my god, what a talent," he said.
With any luck, fans may have even more Game of Thrones spin-offs to look forward to, with Martin revealing in his blog that, while one of the five "GoT" prequel series in development was shelved, "three more GAME OF THRONES prequels, set in different periods and featuring different characters and storylines, remain in active development."
More Game of Thrones? We can't wait. With any luck, we'll be watching the show well into the year 2074.