'Game of Thrones' prequel: George R.R. Martin spills details (Starks, but no Lannisters)
Westeros was a little less golden thousands of years ago.
Although we're just a few months out from the epic (and disappointing) "Game of Thrones" finale, author George R.R. Martin is already moving on to discussing HBO's potential prequel series. now filming a pilot episode in Ireland. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Martin discussed details from the potential series, revealing that the tale takes place so far into Westerosi past that fan-favorite antagonists and antiheroes, the Lannisters, aren't even a big deal yet.
“The Lannisters aren’t there yet, but Castlery Rock is certainly there; it’s like the Rock of Gibraltar,” he told the magazine. “It’s actually occupied by the Casterlys – for whom it’s still named after in the time of Game of Thrones.”
Martin let slip a few other tidbits about the untitled prequel series, which stars Naomi Watts. HBO will decide later this year whether it will move forward with the spinoff series.
Even though the Lannisters aren't around (yet), the Starks, descendants of the fabled First Men, will be a part of the show, Martin said, confirming HBO's earlier description of the series. “The Starks will definitely be there,” and so will their direwolves.
The direwolves aren't the only creatures stalking Westeros. “Obviously the White Walkers are (in the series) – or as they’re called in my books, The Others – and that will be an aspect of it,” Martin said. There aren't any dragons this time around, but there are "mammoths.”
One of the biggest differences is that Westeros won't resemble the land we remember from "Thrones."
“We talk about the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros; there were Seven Kingdoms at the time of Aegon’s Conquest,” Martin explained. “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.”
As for a title, there isn't one yet, but Martin's hopes that it would be called "The Long Night" have been dashed after the title was used for an episode in the final "Thrones" season.
“I heard a suggestion that it could be called 'The Longest Night,' which is a variant I wouldn’t mind,” he supposed. “That would be pretty good.”
More: All 73 'Game of Thrones' episodes ranked, including series finale 'The Iron Throne'
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Game of Thrones' prequel: George R.R. Martin spills details
