Entertainment Weekly recently caught up with A Song of Ice and Fire writer George R.R. Martin to talk about HBO's upcoming
Game of Thrones prequel series, and learned a number of interesting things about what to expect when the show finally makes its way onto our screens in the not-so-distant future.
While not much is yet known about the cast of characters or the story the new series plans to tell, Martin shared plenty of insight on the prequel's setting, some of the families we may or may not be reintroduced to, some of the creatures we could see, and a small update on the potential title.
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100 Kingdoms of Westeros
While we've come to know the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros over the past decade or so, the upcoming prequel will be set during a time when there are nearly a hundred kingdoms across the continent, which means fans can likely expect a lot more danger and political backstabbing as these vastly different empires battle for the right to rule the land.
“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.”
The Pack Survives
Game of Thrones concluded its run with four Stark children surviving, and it sounds like the new series will be introducing a whole new generation of the fan-favorite family. “The Starks will definitely be there,” says Martin before adding that their loyal direwolves and a number of other familiar creatures will also be making an appearance.
“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.” However, it remains to be seen whether dragons will make the cut.
No Lannisters
When the series picks up, don't expect to meet any new Lannisters as the house of lions won't be in power nor will they be residing at Casterly Rock just yet. However, just because they're not there at the beginning doesn't mean they can't be introduced a little later down the line, presumably in a future season.
“The Lannisters aren’t there yet, but Castlery 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.”
No word on the Targaryens, but it doesn't look like they'll be a part of the series either for the time being.
Ensemble Cast
Just like its predecessor, the new prequel series will be an ensemble piece and won't feature a true lead, despite some of the roles undoubtedly being larger than others.
“I hesitate to use the word ‘lead.’ As you know for Game of Thrones, we never even nominated anybody for lead actress or lead actor [during awards season] until recently; it was always for supporting [categories] because the show is such an ensemble. I think that will be true for this show too. We don’t have leads so much as a large ensemble cast.”
The cast will feature Naomi Watts, Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sheila Atim, Ivanno Jeremiah, Georgie Henley, Alex Sharp, Toby Regbo, and Josh Whitehouse.
The Longest Night?
Even though the prequel series is already deep into production, HBO has remained tight lipped about a potential title - although Martin did previously reveal his preferred choice, The Long Night. However, after the third episode of Game of Thrones season eight used the same name as its episode title, it looks like the production team may be going in a slightly different direction.
“I heard a suggestion that it could be called The Longest Night, which is a variant I wouldn’t mind. That would be pretty good.”