George R.R. Martin Confirms Starks, Direwolves, and More Details for the GAME OF THRONES Prequel
Thanks to George R.R. Martin, we have a few new details to share with you regarding HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series that is currently in production.
Martin is calling the untitled series “The Long Night,” which is the era that the story is set in, which is about 5,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and this is going to be a very different Westeros that won’t be familiar to fans. It’s explained:
“Westeros is a very different place. There’s no King’s Landing. There’s no Iron Throne. There are no Targaryens — Valyria has hardly begun to rise yet with its dragons and the great empire that it built. We’re dealing with a different and older world and hopefully that will be part of the fun of the series.”
It’s also been said that “the project chronicles the world's descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour.” The network previously teased the plot with the following logline:
"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."
During a recent interview with EW, Martin revealed a few new things about the series that fans might find interesting. He says that the story will include members of the House Stark of Winterfell, as well as their direwolves.
“The Starks will definitely be there. Obviously the White Walkers are here — or as they’re called in my books, The Others — and that will be an aspect of it. There are things like direwolves and mammoths.”
For those of you familiar with the history of Westeros, the Starks descended from the First Men of Westeros, so it makes sense that they would have a place in this series. Martin goes on to say:
“The Lannisters aren’t there yet, but Casterly Rock is certainly there; it’s like the Rock of Gibraltar. It’s actually occupied by the Casterlys — for whom it’s still named after in the time of Game of Thrones.”
Martin also revealed that Westeros is divided into 100 different kingdoms in the series!
“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.”
This is certainly going to make for an interesting Westeros! It seems like the setting for a dangerous, chaotic, and lawless world! The report says it seems like the “Wild West Westeros.”
This sounds like it could seriously be a great show, and I’m excited to see how it turns out! Jane Goldman is leading the charge on this project, and it will star Naomi Watts, Josh Whitehouse, Denise Gough, Miranda Richardson, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Ivanno Jeremiah, Alex Sharp and Toby Regbo. S.J. Clarkson (Jessica Jones) is directing.
What do you think about these new details that have been released?