HBO Reportedly Canceled That Big ‘Game Of Thrones’ Prequel Series
The end of Game of Thrones came in May of 2019. Fans were heartbroken over the show's ending (in more ways than one for some). But when it came to never seeing Westeros again, fans were not concerned. HBO had commissioned no less than five pilot scripts, and one was already filming. A new Game of Thrones prequel would come soon. But it seems this will not be after all, as HBO reportedly canceled the Game Of Thrones prequel starring Naomi Watts. Elite Daily reached out to HBO for comment, and the network stated it could not confirm the reports at this time.
Known as "Age of Heroes," "The Long Night," or "Bloodmoon," after the show's reported filming code name, this prequel was a Stark centric show, set 10,00 years before the events depicted in Game of Thrones. A giant roster of cast had been rumored to fill the roles, though no one was sure who played who. But in all reports, HBO was bullish about the show's chances, with both HBO programming chief Casey Bloys and author George RR Martin talking about how excited they were to see the edited project come September.
And then, radio silence, save a sudden rumor that claimed HBO was looking at a different prequel script to take to the filming stage. Was HBO so confident in the product it wanted two? Or was this a bad sign of Bloodmoon's chances of making it to full series.
Now it looks like it might be the latter situation, as multiple outlets are reporting HBO passed on the pilot.
TVLine has confirmed that the cabler has opted not to move forward with Naomi Watts-headlined project. According to sources, HBO execs screened the pilot over the summer and were not thrilled with the results. Instead of passing, however, they sent Goldman and Co. back into the editing room to make a slew of changes. But the revamped pilot failed to impress the execs either, leading them to pull the plug altogether.
According to sources, Goldman e-mailed the cast to share the news. HBO, as it typically does on projects in development, declined comment.
This news will definitely hit fans of Game of Thrones the hardest. Season 8 was not universally beloved by the show's massive fanbase by any stretch, but despite the social media outcry, most fans liked the way it concluded. What was loose and convoluted to some, others found satisfying. And with George R.R. Martin closely involved, fans were hoping for something akin to the A Song of Ice & Fire histories. There's certainly a lot of Game of Thrones material for HBO to work with, and fans have been hungry ever since the series final season was announced.
But what everyone really wanted was a chance to go back to Westeros again, and exist within the fascinating world Martin built. Now it seems the real "Long Night" is waiting for any sort of prequel has arrived.
