The “Game of Thrones” prequel might be the cure for what’s ailing fans who did not care for how Dan Weiss and David Benioff’s ended the main series last month. If Naomi Watts, the star of the currently untitled HBO pilot, is to be believed, you “won’t be let down” by this one, guys.
“It makes me very excited, yeah, goosebumps all over,” Watts, who leads the cast as a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret, told the Associated Press earlier this week. “It is intimidating. It’s very exciting. And yes, having just come off the last series, where the world was blowing up over it. Everything was ‘Game of Thrones’ related. All the advertising on TV, every article — everyone’s jumping on that bandwagon. So, it is scary.”
“But hopefully those fans come along and get to find something new and interesting in this world as well,” she added. “I think they won’t be let down. It’s a great team of people they’ve put together.”
Ordered to pilot last year, the currently untitled project from George R.R. Martin and “Kingsman” screenwriter Jane Goldman is set thousands of years before the events of the original “Game of Thrones” series in the era known as the “Age of Heroes.”
The prequel is set to go into production this summer, with Entertainment Weekly reporting this week filming has already begun — though HBO declined TheWrap’s request for comment on that matter.
Along with Watts, the pilot’s cast includes “Harry Potter” alum Miranda Richardson, Josh Whitehouse, Naomi Ackie (who will next appear in J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars” franchise), Denise Gough (“Guerrilla,” “Angels in America”), Jamie Campbell Bower (“Twilight,” “Mortal Instruments”), Sheila Atim (“Harlots”), Ivanno Jeremiah (“Black Mirror”), Georgie Henley (“The Chronicles of Narnia”), Alex Sharp (“To the Bone”) and Toby Regbo (“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”), Marquis Rodriguez, John Simm, Richard McCabe, John Heffernan and Dixie Egerickx.
According to HBO, the drama “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.”
Goldman wrote the pilot from a story she developed alongside Martin. She will serve as showrunner and will executive produce alongside Martin, James Farrell, Jim Danger Gray, Vince Gerardis, Sara Lee Hess, and Daniel Zelman. SJ Clarkson will direct the pilot and also executive produce. Chris Symes is co-executive producer.
Watch Watts’ interview below.
GOT JITTERS: Naomi Watts admits she was "intimidated" to join the "Game of Thrones" prequel, but says she has confidence the upcoming series will please fans. #GOT pic.twitter.com/yC8abKewMq
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) June 18, 2019