Game of Thrones prequel will start shooting this summer

Don't worry, we'll have something to look forward to when HBO’s Game of Thrones wraps up this year with its final season; the prequel to the fantasy show has set an early summer filming start date.

The cast is led by Naomi Watts who reportedly plays a “charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret”, Naomi Ackie, Denise Goughand, Jamie Campbell Bower and Josh Whitehouse to name a few.

Jane Goldman will serve as showrunner for the series after developing the idea along with GoT writer, George R.R. Martin, with Jessica Jones director S.J. Clarkson directing the pilot.

Not a lot is known about the prequel’s story, which is officially described as: “Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, 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’s 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.”

“It’s a very different setting, a very different time in Westeros, It will feel different but still Game of Thrones,” HBO President of programming Casey Bloys told Deadline.

Speaking about the prequel, Martin had previously said: “There are very strong female characters but it’s an ensemble, there are men and women. Jane is a very good writer, we don’t want to limit her to writing female leads. There are a lot of very complicated leads in (the pilot).”

The show’s title is rumored to be The Long Night, but that’s not confirmed.