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Game of Thrones prequel ‘Bloodmoon’: cast, release date and everything we know so far about the spin-off series

The battle for the Iron Throne may be over and done with, but fans who aren't quite ready to say goodbye to Game of Thrones are in luck as a prequel is in development at HBO.

Whilst viewers who were unhappy with how the final episode ended are unlikely to get their way and have the final season remade (despite over one million viewers signing a petition earlier this year), there is plenty of good news. Production reportedly began on the series in Ireland earlier this summer and an array of famous faces have signed up to star.

A leaked image which allegedly comes from a production sheet from the show suggests that the series will be titled Bloodmoon, which corroborates previous reports which hinted at the same name. HBO are yet to confirm the rumous.

Here’s everything we know about the prequel so far.

When will it be released?

According to Entertainment Weekly, a pilot for the show is expected to shoot in “early summer” this year, although no official release date has been confirmed yet.

Casey Bloys, HBO’s head of programming, said the show would air at least a year after the Game of Thrones conclusion.

He told Hollywood Deadline in January: “I don’t want to use it to launch something else, I want it to stand as the finale of the greatest TV show of all time, I don’t want to do anything that infringes on that.”

Who has been cast in it and who will they play?

Leading lady: Naomi Watts at the Sundance Film Festival ( Rich Fury/Getty Images)
Leading lady: Naomi Watts at the Sundance Film Festival ( Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Naomi Watts is the first big name to be added to the cast list. Cast as the leading lady, her character has so far been described only as a “charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret.”

Poldark actor Josh Whitehouse has also joined the prequel series, although no further details have been released about his character.

Other names set to make an appearance include Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth), Jamie Campbell Bower (Twilight, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grinderwald), Ivanno Jeremiah (Humans, Black Mirror), Toby Regbo and Georgie Henley (The Chronicles of Narnia).

What will it be about?

Back story: The prequel may explore the tales of the Free Folk (HELEN SLOAN / HBO)
Back story: The prequel may explore the tales of the Free Folk (HELEN SLOAN / HBO)

Although we don’t know exactly when the prequel will take place, HBO’s official synopsis says the show is set “thousands of years” before the Fire and Ice story and that the prequel will document “the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour.”

Die-hard GoT fans may recall the Age of Heroes from the books, which refers to a time 10,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones, after the First Men and Children of the Forest agreed a peace pact.

Whilst rather vague, the official companion book The World of Ice and Fire describes the Age of Heroes as follows:

“The Age of Heroes lasted for thousands of years, in which kingdoms rose and fell, noble houses were founded and withered away, and great deeds were accomplished. Yet what we truly know of those ancient days is hardly more than what we know of the Dawn Age. The tales we have now are the work of septons and maesters writing thousands of years after the fact.”

Will any of the original cast star?

Since the prequel is set at least 6,000 years before Game of Thrones, we’re not likely to see any of the original cast return for the prequel.

We may however see some of their ancestors, who could provide an interesting backstory to the GoT characters we already know and love.

Here’s hoping we don’t have too long to wait until the GoT shaped hole in our hearts is filled.

The final episode of Game of Thrones airs tonight on Sky Atlantic at 9pm.