It’s a tale of two “Game of Thrones” prequels over at HBO.
HBO has announced plans for a spinoff prequel of its popular Game of Thrones series. Warner Media made the announcement on October 29 that 10 episodes of House of the Dragon have been ordered for its star premium channel. The news comes just hours after the network confirmed it would not be moving forward with another franchise prequel starring Naomi Watts. The original Game of Thrones series ended earlier this year after nine years on the air.
The new series will begin 300 years before the original Game of Thrones and will be called House of the Dragon. It is based on another one of George R.R. Martin’s novels, Fire and Blood, which published in 2018. The book details the long and contentious story of the House of Targaryen family. The series will be directed by Miguel Sapochnik and created by George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condol. A release date for the series has not been announced.
#HouseOfTheDragon, a #GameofThrones prequel is coming to @HBO.
— Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) October 29, 2019
The series is co-created by @GRRMSpeaking and Ryan Condal. Miguel Sapochnik will partner with Condal as showrunner and will direct the pilot and additional episodes. Condal will be writing the series. pic.twitter.com/9ttMzElgXm
The Game of Thrones series was a runaway hit for the network, winning a total of 58 Emmy Awards, five SAG Awards, and the Peabody Award. It filled a hole in the network’s programming after The Sopranos series ended.
The other prequel starring actress Naomi Watts was not picked up after a pilot was shot in Ireland.
The Game of Thrones news also came on the same day Warner Media announced its new subscription service, HBO Max. The new streaming service will have all of the HBO content plus extra programming including Friends and South Park. New episodes of exclusive content will roll out weekly instead of all at once like traditional streaming services. HBO Max will be priced at $14.99, but will be free for existing HBO subscribers.
What do you think about the Game of Thrones prequel? Will you watch it? Are you disappointed that the other one didn't get picked up? Tell us in the comments!
