Ever since Game of Thrones came to an end, there has been a big gaping hole in the lives of fans of the series, but luckily George R.R Martin is on hand with details about the mysterious prequel.
The author and executive producer chatted to Entertainment Weekly about showrunner Jane Goldman’s pilot, which is currently being filmed in Northern Ireland.
Both HBO and Martin have previously confirmed the prequel is set around 5,000 years before the events which take place in Game of Thrones, meaning Westeros was a very different place and could even have a different name.
While details have been thin on the ground up until now, Martin has revealed Westeros is divided into roughly 100 kingdoms in the prequel, which is a far cry from the Seven (Six) Kingdoms we now know.
He explained:
We talk about the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros; there were Seven Kingdoms at the time of Aegon’s Conquest. 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.
And while there might not be dragons (we’re talking pre-Targaryen here, people), there will be Starks and direwolves – although fans might’ve worked this out given the Starks descended from the First Men.
Martin continued:
The Starks will definitely be there. Obviously, the White Walkers are here, or as they’re called in my books, The Others, and that will be an aspect of it. There are things like direwolves and mammoths.
The prequel is currently untitled but we’re expecting to find out more details soon, as filming is officially underway.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.