Game of Thrones fans are waiting with baited breath for news of the final season. But also on the horizon is the as-yet untitled Game of Thrones prequel project set in Westeros during the time known as the Age of Heroes. HBO has ordered a pilot made, and Geeks Worldwide reports that it will start shooting this February at Titanic Studios in Belfast, Northern Ireland, long the home of filming on Game of Thrones.
This information isn’t ironclad, but it would certainly make sense for HBO to shoot somewhere familiar, particularly when the new series will have close ties to Game of Thrones. The February filming date falls in line with several comments made by people associated with the show, most notably HBO programming president Casey Bloys, who said “we’re hoping to go into production in early ’19.” Game of Thrones visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer got more specific. “[T]he prequel is starting to shoot in February, at least the pilot.”
Considering the sources, I think we can pencil in February as the production start date on The Long Night, or whatever the new show ends up being called. And if not, that’s what erasers are for.
Anyway, keep in mind that HBO is shooting a pilot, not a series; the network will have to decide if it wants to order a full season of episodes after watching the finished pilot. The pilot for Game of Thrones famously went through extensive reshoots to get it into shape, and that worked out pretty well. In any case, this means The Long Night, should it happen at all, probably won’t be out for a while. Given that 2019 will be dominated by the final season of Game of Thrones, we’re betting HBO would hold the first season of its new show until 2020, giving fans bereft over the loss of their favorite show something to look forward to.
If all goes according to plan, we could be returning to Westeros every year for a long time to come, which should please both Thrones diehards and the Belfast film industry, which has flourished in the wake of HBO’s hit.
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