Just hours after announcing the cancellation of the Game of Thrones prequel series starring Naomi Watts, HBO gave a straight-to-series order to another prequel idea. According to The Hollywood Reporter, House of the Dragon will focus on the origins of House Targaryen and is executive produced by George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal of Colony. The source material will be Martin’s recent novel Fire and Blood, which covers the history of the Targaryen civil war and is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The pilot will be directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who won an Emmy for his direction of “The Battle of the Bastards.”
This decision comes on the heels of the news that HBO would not be moving forward with its other prequel series, referred to as The Long Night by Martin but never given an official title by HBO. That series shot a pilot earlier this year in Northern Ireland and was executive produced by Jane Goldman. It would have focused on the first war between humans and the White Walkers (which is called The Long Night).
Game of Thrones ended its eight season run earlier this year as HBO’s most successful television series and one of the most watched shows in recent memory. It won top honors at this year’s Emmy Awards and holds the record for most nominations received by a show in a single year. The new prequel series will have a 10-episode first season. No other details have been announced.
