For fans who have not entirely given up on Westeros following the ‘Game of Thrones’ finale, George R.R. Martin sat down recently with Entertainment Weekly to talk about the upcoming prequel series. So far, the bulk of the information we know about the series is that it will be set thousands of years before the original show and the cast will include Naomi Watts, Josh Whitehouse, Miranda Richardson, Jamie Campbell Bower, Toby Regbo, Georgie Henley, Alex Sharp, Naomi Ackie, Marquis Rodriguez, John Simms, Richard McCabe, John Heffernan, and Dixie Egerickx. Beyond that, Martin hinted that the prequels would introduce a Westeros a bit more wild than the one we saw in ‘Game of Thrones,’ show us the origins of the Stark Clan and Casterly Rock, and explore beyond the known Seven Kingdoms.
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While speaking to EW, Martin stated:
“We talk about the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros; there were Seven Kingdoms at the time of Aegon’s Conquest. 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.”
That’s a lot to take in and makes sense. It’s not like Seven Kingdoms magically sprouted from the ground. They would have to have been formed from smaller fiefdoms and families joining together for protection and welfare, and to see how the Seven Kingdoms we know came to be might be a story that fans would be interested in seeing, especially if it manages to recapture the magic of the original seasons of the series.
As HBO executive Casey Bloys said back in February while gearing up for the final season of ‘Game of Thrones’ and answering questions about the prequel and the future:
“It’s a great world and great IP. We’re going to do the pilot, see how it goes. Is it possible we do another one? Maybe. But I don’t want HBO to become a network that airs just Game of Thrones or Game of Thrones prequels. It should be said that Game of Thrones has been an incredible show for us but what we’re doing is a much more diversified slate so that we’re not in a position that we have to get the ‘Game of Thrones‘ franchise up and running or the lights are going out at HBO. That is not the situation and it never has been… We’re not going all-in ‘Game of Thrones‘ all the time. I do think it would be crazy not to try the prequel and to see what else is out there because George R.R. Martin has created this incredible universe and there’s a lot of different places you can go. But we want to be careful not to overdo it.”
Of course, this was all before the ‘Thrones’ finale was met with such controversy among the fans, so HBO might be a bit more cautious about leaning too heavily on the franchise at the moment.
What are your thoughts about the prequel taking on the fractured kingdoms of Westeros and the founding of the Seven Kingdoms? Are you even willing to give the show a chance at this point? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments below!
