However much you might still be reeling about the final episode, it already feels like so very long ago that we said goodbye to Westeros and its surviving citizens.
Many of us are now turning our attentions to the upcoming prequel, which will take us back many, many years before the bloodsoaked dynastical drama of the HBO mega hit.
Tentatively called Bloodmoon, the prequel has a hopeful release date at sometime in 2020, and will star the likes of Naomi Watts (21 Grams), Josh Whitehouse (Poldark) and Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter).
Now a photograph has leaked from the top secret set in Italy’s Grotta del Turco, which shows Watts wearing a gleaming gold gown and blonde hair piled up high on her head.
Not too much is known about the regal-looking character Watts will play, however she has been intriguingly described as ‘a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret’. Some diligent fans believe Watts will be playing Nissa Nissa, the ill-fated wife of Azor Aha, but nothing has been confirmed.
Watts has – completely understandably – expressed a few nerves at the prospect of entering such a fiercely beloved fantasy universe.
Speaking with net-a-porter, Watts admitted:
I still have fears about [the show], […] I don’t really know what to prepare for… I didn’t start watching until I was approached about this job.
But my brother [photographer Ben Watts], who is heavily into it, told me ‘Under no circumstances are you going to turn this down.’
Bloodmoon – which was initially titled The Long Night – will be set around 10,000 years before Arya Stark smashed The Night King to smithereens.
As for the plot itself, the following synopsis has been given by HBO:
Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series chronicles the world’s descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour.
From the horrifying secrets of Westeros’s history to the true origin of the White Walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend, only one thing is for sure: It’s not the story we think we know.
In a notable change to its mammoth predecessor, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss won’t be running the show this time around.
The script will be firmly in the hands of English screenwriter Jane Goldman (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children) who has co-created the show alongside George R.R. Martin himself.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.