‘Game of Thrones’ Targaryen Prequel Series in the Works at HBO

By Will Thorne

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Fans might not have seen the final dragon soaring over Westeros.

HBO is nearing a pilot commitment for a prequel series based on the “Game of Thrones” companion book “Fire & Blood,” sources have confirmed to Variety. The book tells stories of previous Targaryen kings, like Aegon the Conqueror, the first ruler of Westeros, and Aegon the Dragonbane, all of whom are ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) who appear in the recently finished mega-hit series.

The prospective pilot hails from Martin and “Colony” co-creator and executive producer Ryan Condal, and would be set 300 years before the events of the original series, exploring the beginning of the end for House Targaryen.

HBO declined comment. Author George R. R. Martin had previously hinted via his blog that one of the prequel series would be based on the companion book.

The cabler originally announced that five spinoff series were in the works. The only other one to be moving forward to date is set thousands of years before the original series and will star Naomi Watts in a leading role. That series, which is currently in post-production, will plunge into its darkest hour after the Age of Heroes ended long ago. Martin informally referred to the series as “The Long Night” in a blog post, alluding to the winter that lasted a generation nearly 10,000 years ago, and caused widespread terror and famine. The show will explore the origins of the White Walkers, the mysteries of Essos and the legends of the early Stark family.

The rest of the cast for that other series includes Josh Whitehouse, Miranda Richardson, Naomi Ackie, Denise Gough, and Jamie Campbell Bower. Jane Goldman will serve as showrunner and co-created the series with Martin, and S.J. Clarkson will direct the pilot and executive produce.

Deadline first reported the development news.