Game Of Thrones Prequel Series Details Revealed

The Age of Heroes is coming.

HBO have officially ordered a pilot episode of a Game of Thrones prequel series, set thousands of years before the events of the main show.

It was revealed last year that the network were developing no less (*fewer) than five spin-offs from a variety of writing teams, and now one has been given the go ahead. This is the script written by Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, X-Men: Days of Future Past) and George R.R. Martin himself, with Goldman set to serve as showrunner. It sounds very different from the current show, but no less ambitious, with the official logline reading:

"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’ 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.”

That means we should get to see some major Westeros events, including The Long Night, the Battle for the Dawn (perhaps with Azor Ahai), the building of the Wall, and the founding of some of the great houses, including legendary characters such as Brandon the Builder and Lann the Clever.

But most excitingly, as the logline promises, it's not going to go the way we think. Part of the beauty of Martin's world isn't just the vast history, but the way he sets up and then breaks down legends in unexpected ways, and this spin-off is ripe with such potential, while avoiding running close to the main series (the Age of Heroes happened around 10,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones).

There’s no word yet on when this will debut, but HBO have previously stated it won’t be until Game of Thrones is done, so 2020 seems like the earliest possible air date. Thrones will return for its eighth and final season next spring.

What do you think of the prequel series? Let us know down in the comments.