Game of Thrones Prequel About House Targaryen Nearing Pilot Order

Just when you thought you were safe from House Targaryen, think again. Deadline reports that HBO is nearing a pilot order on another Game of Thrones project, this one focusing on that noble house of madmen—and women—who have ruled and ruined Westeros. The prequel comes from GoT co-executive producer and creator of the source material, George R. R. Martin, and Colony co-creator/executive producer Ryan Condal. It would be set 300 years before the events in Game of Thrones. Deadline reporter Nellie Andreeva writes that the project is based on Martin’s “Fire and Blood” book, with a script by Condal, and has been in the works at HBO since last fall.

This new project is not, technically, a sixth GoT prequel, according to Andreeva’s sources. Instead, this would be a “brand new take” on something originally written by GoT scribe and producer Bryan Cogman in one of the five previous prequel scripts that were commissioned by HBO in 2017.

HBO has already shot one GoT prequel this past summer. That one comes from Jane Goldman and stars Naomi Watts in the main role. It’s got some Starks, as we last reported. Martin told Entertainment Weekly that the prequel is set some 5,000 years in the past: “Valryia 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.”

Meanwhile, Martin hinted about this Targaryen-based show on his blog this past May, writing: “Two other shows remain in the script stage, but are edging closer. What are they about? I cannot say. But maybe some of you should pick up a copy of Fire & Blood and come up with your own theories.”

Martin’s “Fire and Blood” is a Targaryen history book and a companion to his “A Song of Ice and Fire” series. It follows House Targaryen, those dragon-loving rulers, when they took over Dragonstone. It begins with Aegon the Conquerer, the Targaryen who created the Iron Throne, and tracks House Targaryen through the years to the Dance of Dragons, the civil war that nearly obliterated their line.

Perhaps HBO will make an official announcement soon—maybe sometime around the Emmys, where Game of Thrones just broke the record for most nominations, ever, with an astonishing 32.

Featured image: Season 8, episode 4 (debut 5/5/19): Emilia Clarke. Photo: HBO